Impacted
by Missmishka
Summary: COMPLETED! Set after IMPACT. AU aftermath of the episode in which Mesmero kidnaps Rogue for Apocalypse. Features Acolytes, Brotherhood, Morlocks & X-Men. Rated for language & death of a minor character. Better summary inside.
1. PLEASE READ FIRST

DISCLAIMER: 

All things X-Men are the complete and sole property of Stan Lee, Marvel Comics and the wonderful creators/writers of the Evolution cartoon series who I love more and more with every new episode! I in no way seek to infringe upon the rights of any of those owners, I am simply sharing with all the wonderful thoughts their creations inspire within me. All non-profit, so please, no lawyers or lawsuits. Pwetty pwease? 

Author's Notes:

This series is set after "Impact" a stunning season 4 episode that originally aired on KidsWB Saturday, August 31. If you've not yet seen it, please find a way to get and view it before reading this series. The episode gets a solid 10 out of 10 from me for overall content and effect and without seeing it this story will seem a little puzzling. Also it contains major spoilers, so beware.

Though there are many mentions of scenes from the actual episode, this series is COMPLETELY Alternate Universe! It is put in that category because it introduces characters from the comics that may never actually appear on Evolution and it also blends in aspects of the first X-Men movie, but all of that is subtle and in no way takes it from the Evolution genre. Please keep that in mind at all times when reading the story. 

It will contain: action/adventure (little bits), angst, drama, humor (quip remarks, funny scenes, etc), romance, suspense (as in I'm gonna leave y'all hanging wondering what will happen next), and what most will probably view as fantasy, sci-fi or supernatural. Basically it'll be your usual X-Men fic.

There are a few driving forces behind this series:

1) The chemistry I always see between Evo-Logan & Rogue. Destiny's words to Mystique in Self-Possessed, "An ancient mutant will rise to once again walk the earth. Your fates, both yours and Rogue's, are in his hands." Mesmero's words to Mystique in Dark Horizons Pt II when he's getting her to open the final door, (NOT an exact quote) "Apocalypse will look after those who serve/help him." 

2) My belief that Apocalypse has some of the same mutation as Rogue's – absorption - only he is far more advanced and fully in control of those powers. 

3) Mine and Kurt's refusal to accept that Mystique (my FAVORITE villainess) is dead as well as the belief that Rogue TOTALLY regrets her own actions and wants to take them back. 

Story Intro & Summary:

Following "Impact" Rogue flees the X-Men, a devastated Kurt realizes Mystique cannot be saved, Logan follows after Rogue against Charles' orders, Charles tries to cope with all the twists of the day and Mesmero is given another chore by Apocalypse.

In the early chapters, attention will be focused on everyone dealing with the events, including the Acolytes who separate without Magneto's leadership. Logan will find Rogue, only to have her taken from him by Mesmero, who has also collected the remains of Mystique for some unknown reason. The team recovers and prepares for their next mission, which Logan believes should be finding Mesmero and Rogue. (These chapters will be high on drama, angst, anger and arguments with hints of romance.)

The later chapters will focus on the mission to rescue Rogue and it's results. (These chapters will contain action/adventure, continued drama, suspense, sci-fi/fantasy, romance, the death of a minor character, and the revelation of Magneto's fate.)

Who all will be falling in love in this epic?

What is the fate of Rogue, the X-Men and the entire world?

How successful will they all be in their missions?

Can this possibly have the happy ending I always write?

Who dies?

What is it that I believe has happened to Magneto?

To learn the answers, you must read on. :-)


	2. Aftermath

**__**

Aftermath

She couldn't stop crying.

She hated the tears and every damn emotion their falling told her she felt, but she couldn't stop them.

Nor could she control the shaking of her hands as she hastily threw her clothes into her backpack and prepared to leave the mansion.

"Oh Gawd," she suddenly sobbed aloud as she once again replayed the scene that was forcing her to make this flight.

She'd killed her.

She still couldn't believe that had been her. That it had been real.

Shoving the last bit of clothing that she could into the backpack she zipped it shut then froze to stare at her hands.

__

Murderer, an inner voice whispered, reminding her of what those hands had done.

"No!" she screamed aloud at the voice even as in her heart and soul she knew it spoke the truth.

Breathing rapidly to try and control the tears and inner turmoil, she threw on her hooded cloak, grabbed the bag she'd packed and ran from the mansion as if the hounds of Hell nipped at her heels.

There was no longer any denying the truth of her name.

She was the Rogue, a blackguard and outlaw on the run.

~*~*~

Even as Kurt slowly picked up the pieces of his biological with great care and attention, he could not believe this had happened.

His mind could not grasp the reality that Mystique was no broken and could never be brought back to life. 

The facts that Rogue, his own sister and Mystique adopted daughter, had done this and that he'd been too late with his teleporting to save his stone encased mother from impacting with the ground were just too much to deal with right now.

Refusing to give in to the tears building within him, he again filled his arms with as many broken pieces of Mystique as he could then teleported back up to the gazebo to lay them gently with the others he'd collected.

Mechanically, he ported back to the rocks and shoreline to gather more bits of stone, repeating the process until his searching yellow eyes could find no more of his mother's remains.

Finally he returned to the gazebo for the last time then stood staring blankly at the scattered pieces of stone.

A slight rustling of clothes behind him alerted Kurt to the fact that Agatha Harkness had not yet left.

He turned his head sharply to see her looking down upon the remains of her friend with a tear sliding slowly down her wrinkled cheek.

"Is zhere any zhing zhat can be done now?" he brokenly asked the wise old woman.

Without a word Agatha knelt next to the scattered pieces and began laying gentle hands upon them to see if any sign of life existed in the shattered stone.

When the woman sighed defeatedly and her shoulders slumped forward in despair, Nightcrawler fell to his knees in grief and began to sob at the death of the mother he'd never had the chance to know.

~*~*~

"We have to find her, Charles," Logan growled as he passed the Professor's office.

Charles sighed and tiredly rubbed his head as he watched his friend's movements.

"I'm afraid we cannot, Logan. I fear Rogue has just had too many traumas recently for us to be able to help her right now and with Apocalypse awakened and plotting heaven only knows what, I can spare no one to try and find her. We must let her deal with this as she feels she must and if running away is her answer we have to accept it."

"No way, Chuck. She's scared and vulnerable right now and needs us more than ever. There isn't much we can do until Apocalypse makes his move. Let me go find her."

"If you do find her, what then Logan? She crossed a line tonight with her actions. Kurt may never recover from what she's done."

"You're turning your back on her just like that?" the pacing man froze to snarl at the man in his wheelchair.

Again, Charles sighed.

"No, Logan, I am not. I simply cannot help her now, no one may be able to. There are just too many other matters to deal with right now for this to be a priority."

"It may not be a _priority_ to you, bub, but I don't give up that easily. I don't turn my back on people I care about that easily."

With that the man turned and stalked toward the door to leave the room.

"Logan, you're needed here," the Professor said sternly as he picked up on the other man's thoughts.

"I'll have my communicator with me. If the Apocalypse comes, beep me," he growled from the doorway.

"She could be anywhere by now," Charles tried to reason. "How will you be able to find her?"

Before leaving the room, Logan turned to face his friend with absolute conviction in every line of his body.

"The old fashioned way, Charles. I'm going to look for her."

Moments after issuing that statement and leaving the room, Charles heard the roar of Logan's motorcycle coming to life and tearing down the driveway.

This day had simply been too much for the Professor and tiredly he left his office to go to bed. 

As he maneuvered himself from his wheelchair into his bed, Charles reflected on all that had happened.

Magnus and Mystique appeared to be dead.

Kurt was devastated by his grief.

Rogue had fled and Logan was now chasing after her rather than trying to help return the team to some kind of order.

And the team was left shaken by all the events of the day.

Witnessing Apocalypse's powers yet again and seeing the powerful Magneto vanquished so easily left them all scared – fearing that would be the fate they all met with. Then learning that their teammate and friend had, in essence, killed Mystique and ran from them had left them reeling.

For the first time in a very long time, he did not know what to do. 

There were no speeches he could think to make for reassuring and rallying in the team. No condolences he could give to Nightcrawler to help the boy deal with this blow. 

As he tried to get to sleep he was left feeling that there was no … hope.

~*~*~

The door of his cell swung open and alerted Mesmero that his master had not forgotten him.

An unseen force, the same one that was freeing him from this prison, carried to the man's cape and staff to him in the cell.

__

~~ Bring them to me. ~~

~~ I live to serve you, Apocalypse. I will see that thy will be done. ~~

~~ Spare me words, minion. Bring me results. I give you two days. ~~

Sighing, Mesmero put on his cape and calmly left the prison he'd been held in for the two weeks since freeing his master. Apocalypse was right to have lost faith in him, the telepath thought.

He had come so close to failing in that most important mission, he could not blame the God-like mutant for having abandoned him in Egypt for the X-Men to turn over to authorities.

This time though, there would be no hint of failure. He would carry out his master's wishes and return to Apocalypse's good graces so that he could be among those spared when the ancient power claimed the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Speaking: I will try to have an update to this story within the next few days. Please review what is up so far and be patient for more. I apologize for the shortness, but it's just opening the series.


	3. Runaway

**__**

Runaway

Darkness and rain were all that surrounded Rogue as she stumbled along some road in some place she didn't know. 

She'd tried hitching a ride and that's what had put her in this strange place. The man who'd picked her up had named no destination when she'd told him to just get her away from Bayville, so she had no idea where he'd taken her in the three hours they'd ridden in his car.

It was very woodsy though, wherever it was, which made her shudder at the thoughts of what all that man might have done to her in this isolation. Luckily she'd been able to get away with a few of Logan's self-defense moves when the jerk had started hinting that she owed him something for the ride she'd gotten so far and would give him a lot more if she wanted his 'kindness' to continue.

After that she wasn't about to try thumbing for rides again, even if her legs didn't want to carry her much further and the rain was getting colder and soaking her to the skin.

Sniffling back the tears that still wanted to keep falling she huddled deeper into her cloak and forced herself to continue moving.

Light from an approaching vehicle became vaguely visible in the distance and just to be safe she moved into the concealing woods along the road.

Even when she saw that it was a motorcycle traveling the otherwise deserted road, she stayed in the safety of the trees.

The bike with its lone rider zoomed past her position then screeched to a near halt a few feet down the road. She froze, thinking she had been spotted somehow until the bike again picked up speed and roared out of sight.

__

Musta been something in the road, she realized and the thought disturbed her.

She had no flashlight with her and clouds from the storm covered any bit of the moon or stars from providing any light for her. All she'd been doing for the longest time now was following the bright white line that ran along the edge of the road and was just visible in the darkness. Anything could be lurking in her path and she wouldn't know it until she was upon it.

The imagery the thought evoked in her head was enough to make Rogue want to fall to the ground and curl up into a tight little ball until dawn broke through the night, but she couldn't do that.

Instead she reminded herself firmly that she was the Rogue and returned to blindly following that thin white line, which she hoped would soon lead her to civilization.

Unfortunately, her body had been through too much lately and didn't seem able to hold on until she found some safe place to rest.

After covering maybe five more miles, her legs gave out and she dropped to her knees on the graveled shoulder of the road.

"Lasted longer that I thought you would, kid," a gruffly familiar voice said behind her with a hint of admiration.

Disbelieving her ears, she turned quickly toward the voice and fell back on her butt as she tried to see through the pitch-black night to find the source of those words.

"Logan?!" she finally gasped when she could see nothing.

Gravels crunched and shifted under his steel-toe booted feet as he moved to kneel beside her so that she could make out his features in the darkness.

"How did you - " she began.

"I'll explain later. Right now we need to get outta this rain and put you into some dry clothes before you catch pneumonia."

With that he stunned her further by scooping her up in his arms and rising to his feet.

"Yer ahlways tha one pickin' me up when Ah fall," she realized aloud as she grabbed his shoulders to keep from falling. 

Knowing she hadn't been talking to him, Logan held her tighter to his chest and carried her the two miles back down the road where he'd left his motorcycle concealed in the woods.

"It was you," she said to him this time when she saw the bike. "You were tha one on the motorcahcle that passed me and ya did know Ah was in tha woods. That's whah ya slammed on tha brakes."

He didn't answer her.

He just settled her gently on the back seat of the bike, strapped his helmet on her head then climbed on in front of her and started the machine with the order to hang on.

Trusting him as she always instinctively knew to, she slid her arms around his waist and did just that.

~*~*~

"Ah cahn't go back thare."

Logan turned his attention from the TV he'd been channel surfing on to look at the tearful girl standing in the opened doorway to the bathroom inside the cheap motel room they'd checked into. The words she'd spoken had been little more than a broken whisper, perhaps meant as only a thought she spoke aloud to herself, but his sensitive hearing heard it even over the television.

"I ain't here to make ya, kid," he said simply as he pressed the off button on the remote and rose to face her.

The hot shower she'd taken had put some color back into her skin, but she was still wet and shivering from the cold she'd been exposed to. She was pretty much huddled in the doorway, leaning against the frame, her arms wrapped protectively around her waist and her head tipped toward the floor so that strands of her wet hair fell over it – concealing her features.

Silently he stepped around her into the bathroom to grab a towel from the rack. He frowned at finding none of them damp, indicating she'd made no effort to dry herself after the shower.

Shaking his head to rid it of the sudden images he had of what all could have happened to her in this fragile state when she was unable to take care of herself in such a minor way, he moved to stand in front of her and began gently using the towel he held to squeeze the moisture from her hair.

"Whah _are_ ya here, Logan?" she finally tipped her head back to look into his eyes.

His hands continued to dry her short hair while he said nothing, but there was something in his deep brown gaze that told Rogue the answer was somehow in the look he was giving her. Her mind was too worn out to decipher the meaning of such a look, so she lifted a gloved hand to place it firmly on his wrist and stop the motions of one of his hands.

"Whah are ya here, Logan?" she repeated.

A drop of water ran from her hair down her face like a tear and he moved the hand she wasn't holding to wipe the droplet away. She was surprised to note that his hands were both safely encased in leather gloves.

"You shouldn't be alone right now, kid," he finally answered.

"Stop cahllin' me kid," she ordered as she moved away from him. "Ah stopped bein' a kid a long tahme ago, if Ah evah even was one ta begin with."

"Ok," the corner of his lip curled upward a bit at her anger. "No more kid, I'll keep it Rogue and Stripes."

Reluctantly she smiled a little herself at him making her feel at bit foolish for her reaction.

"Ah'm not too big a fan of Strahpes eithah," she said as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Well then you're just running me all out of options," he joked as he took a seat next to her. "I've gotta be able to call you more than just Rogue."

He almost playfully threw an arm around her shoulders and as her thoughts became serious, she automatically turned in that arm to rest her head against his chest.

"Ah had anothah name once," she quietly whispered against him.

"I figured as much since we all just kinda dubbed ya "Rogue" for being on the run," the man now holding her gently said.

The rumble of his chest against her ear as he spoke and the way his gloved hand was absently stroking her back, soothed and distracted the girl for a moment before she remembered what she'd been about to reveal.

"It was Marie," she looked up into his eyes to inform him. "Mah name, Ah don't really know if it's mah real one or anahthang, but Ahrene used ta call me Marie."

"Ya didn't have to tell me that," he said with a tender smile as he stroked a finger down her cheek.

"Ah know," she nervously lowered her eyes to his chest and whispered, "Ah wanted to."

"Thank you and it's a pleasure to meet you, Marie."

A shiver ran through her and she told herself it was caused by the fact it had been so long since anyone had called her by her 'given' name and had nothing to do with the way he said her name.

For long moments they just sat there, her body pressed tightly to his side and chest as his soothing hands stroked her back.

"Ya wanna talk about it?" he finally broke their comfortable silence to prompt gently.

Having actually forgotten what events had led to this situation for a brief time in his arms, the reminder from his lips caused her body to tense as she swallowed back her emotions.

"Ah cahn't," she whispered hoarsely.

"I'm not big on talkin' either, ki – Marie, but it'll help ya to get it out."

"No, it won't. Nuttin will help me," she looked up at him with tears forming in her green eyes, "Ah killed her."

"No you - "

"Ah did, Logan," she jumped up and began pacing. "She was alahve in that stone and Ah coulda saved her and instead Ah killed her."

"Rogue, the Prof. did every test known to man on that statue and a few more only he coulda thought of and there was no sign of life. Kurt told us what that woman said and all she could promise was _if_ Mystique was alive only you could help her. That's a pretty damned impossible if, so don't beat yourself up over this," he tried to calm her.

"No. She was alahve. Kurt and Ah both knew it, could sense it. Ah could feel her reachin' out ta me, askin' for mah help and Ah snapped. You wahrn't thare. Ya didn't see yerself shove her through the rahlin' or hear tha othah's gasp in horrah or tha statue hittin' and breakin' up on the rocks or …" her voice broke. "Ya didn't hear Kurt scream."

She buried her face in her hands, muffling the rest of her emotional outburst.

"He _begged_ me not ta let tha hate destroy me lahke it had her and Ah went and did somethin' worse than Mystique evah did. Ah killed her. Nevah in any of her plots and plans had she wanted me dead, but Ah killed _her_. She was Kurt's mothah and mahne, too, in her way. She's tha one that put me with Ahrene and made sure Ah had some kind of lahfe before mah skin kicked in. She tried ta help me when everahone Ah'd absorbed wanted ta control me. Tha onlah reason she helped Mesmero tahke ovah mah head was because she thought it was tha onlah chance eithah of us had at survahval. Ah _know_ and _knew_ **_ahll_** that and _AH killed her, Logan_! How can Ah not beat mahself up ovah that? Ah'm a murderah now."

In that moment, as she ran out of words and surrendered to the bone jarring sobs that had been building up inside her, Logan realized nothing he did or said would ever change that opinion she now had of herself.

Cursing the dead shapeshifter one last time for even in death wreaking such havoc in this girl's life, he leap to his feet with a growl and wrapped her in his arms to do the only thing he could. 

Comfort her and just make sure she knew he hadn't left her alone.

Pressing his face against her still damp hair, he hoped that somehow she'd come to realize he'd never be far from her and always right within reach when needed.


	4. Unexpected Visitors

NOTES: As you're sure to have noticed in the last chapter, I am incorporating bits of the first X-Men movie into this story with the introduction of Rogue as "Marie." This is intentional as I am using that movie as a great inspiration for the series. 

In this chapter you will see the introduction of several adaptations from what I know of the comic series, such as characters, their powers and little bits of plots that fit this story. Readers do _not_ have to be familiar with anything other than the cartoon series to enjoy this story, as it as written as an Alternate Universe strongly based in Evolution. I put these notes up so that readers who are familiar with all genres know similarities are intentional on my part BUT they are NOT 'faithful' to the other series as I am adapting them to fit the Evolution world and what I want to happen in this story. 

My best advice to all is read this with a clear mind and simply follow along to see what's to come. :-)

Thank you to all my reviewers and I'm thrilled you like it so far! I hope to keep up the good work.

__

Shadow of the Sword, yes, Rogue will be the pivotal character in the series though there will be many other viewpoints throughout and I'll be writing little almost side stories to give my take on how the whole ensemble is likely to have reacted. Others who will be getting a good deal of attention are: Apocalypse, Charles, Kurt, Logan, Mesmero, and Mystique. 

__

Winter Fire, glad you're deciding to stick around even with the Rogan overtones of these first few chapters. As anyone who's read my profile knows, I am a die hard Rogue/Wolverine shipper, but I have already decided to change my writing just a bit in this series and present 'Marie' with a few options in suitors. The ultimate choice, if there is one, shall remain known only to me until the story unfolds as uploaded though. ;-)

Now on with the next installment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

Unexpected Visitors

Sleep was impossible for Kurt who instead simply stayed wide awake staring at the broken pieces of his mother wondering what to do next.

Suddenly his body stilled and stiffened as his pointy blue ears twitched, sensing something strange. 

__

~~ Bring her to me. ~~

Robotically, the Nightcrawler responded to the command spoken into his frazzled mind and he began teleported an armload of Mystique's remains from his room to the hooded figure awaiting him outside the gates of the school.

__

~~ Place them there. ~~

Blindly, Kurt turned his body in the direction the man pointed with his staff and deposited his burden on the back of the pickup as instructed. 

Without further orders, he ported back into his room for another load and repeated the process until every single piece was transferred to the vehicle outside.

__

~~ You will sleep now and remember none of this. ~~

Firmly under the telepath's control, the blue boy teleported back into his bedroom after placing the last piece in the truck, laid down upon his bed and fell asleep.

~*~*~

__

Mesmero!

Charles bolted upright in his bed, awakened by the restless sleep he'd finally fallen into as he strongly sensed the presence of the other mutant.

__

A dream?, he wondered as he scanned the mansion and found no traces of the mindbender within the school's walls or on the grounds.

Suddenly the telephone on his nightstand rang and he jerked in that direction to fumble slightly with the receiver.

"Charles Xavier," he answered.

"Professor Xavier, this is Warden Burkheart, Mesmero has escaped. We - "

Frowning suspiciously, the Professor calmly hung the phone back up and cut off the remainder of the caller's words. He then pulled on his robe and edged his body off the bed into his wheelchair.

__

~~ Everyone, meet me in the conference room at once. ~~

~*~*~

The relative strangers began arriving in the hours before dawn as the yawning team members tried to figure out where Mesmero now was and what he wanted with Mystique's remains, which were found to be missing.

Warren Worthington III, also known as Angel for the 16 foot feathered wings his mutation had given him, flew past the ground's security features to land on the front doorstep and calmly ring the doorbell. Most of the team knew of him for having joined the X-Men to try preventing Mesmero from getting the second key to free Apocalypse, but still he was an unknown to them.

Though slightly surprised by the blonde mutant's arrival at 4 am in the morning, Charles welcomed him into the mansion and brought him in on the discussion they'd been having.

Sensing a busy day ahead, the Professor shut down the security system thirty minutes later, shortly before the Braddock twins, Brian and Elizabeth, arrived at the mansion fresh from the airport their trans-Atlantic flight from England to New York City had landed at. It had been a few years now since Xavier had visited the twins' father to offer his assistance in helping the children with their growing mutations and he could see much had changed since then. Charles knew they were only 17, but the siblings walked into the room with an air of experience and strength about them that awed the whole team. 

Betsy had somehow transformed from the blonde haired little imp she'd been to a regally statuesque woman with long purple black hair and a lightning bolt tattooed over her left eye. Brian looked about the same as he had - plus the years that had passed, about two feet in height and an abundance of muscles. Though they were both dressed in civilian attire, each of the twins were arms with what Charles assumed was their weapon of choice. A large, heavy broadsword hung from Brian's belt, giving him the look of a Viking conqueror, and a dainty yet deadly katana blade was sheathed on Elizabeth's back for easy reach.

While the team was slowly becoming more alert as their curiosity at the new arrivals grew, Charles ordered them to prepare for even more. They were all learning that last night's events had made international news and mutants throughout the world were making their way to the institute to stand with the X-Men however they could against Apocalypse, whom they'd all witnessed vanquishing the legendary Magento with a flick of the wrist. Such power was terrifying for all inhabitants of the world to witness and those who could do something to stop it, such as these mutants, were all preparing to do just that.

A rather unknown character clad in black leather who introduced himself as Nate Grey came roaring up the driveway on a Harley at a little after 5 am. Though the Professor knew nothing about this young man, it was clear he was a mutant ready to stand guard with the team to prevent whatever Apocalypse had planned. The intriguing fellow was greeted and welcomed into the mansion just as the three visitors before him had been. 

Piotr Rasputin and Remy LeBeau, also known as Colossus and Gambit respectively, were rather unexpected arrivals just as dawn broke over the city of Bayville. While Charles knew Piotr had been an unwilling comrade to Magneto, Remy had always appeared fiercely loyal to the now fallen mutant and all were slightly suspicious of his presence.

The suave Cajun explained away his actions as simply wanting to be on the winning team when this battle began and without Mags, the X-Men were humanity's only hope at coming out of this whole thing unscathed. There was also a great deal of anger toward Magnus in the young man for having left the team behind in Egypt while he foolishly rushed of to Mexico to face the big bad alone. Eventually, they all accepted that he was there to do whatever good he good and they would be able to trust him in any situations that presented themselves, so he too was welcomed to the team.

Ororo was thrilled an hour later when Evan and the group of eight Morlocks strode into the room. The weather Goddess forgot the graveness of the situation the team faced, to lovingly embrace the nephew she'd not seen in months as he hid in the sewers with the mutant group that shunned life above ground. 

The young man accepted her hugs and welcome for a moment before declaring that Caliban knew of what was happening and they all were there to help. He then mentioned that it was morning and none of them had yet eaten, which reminded everyone else gathered in the rather full conference room that it was definitely time for breakfast.

It was during their meal that the most unexpected visitors presented themselves to the rather relaxed team members who were getting acquainted as they ate. 

Kurt, who needed no more surprises, got just that when his girlfriend, Amanda, and her mother, Margali, stepped hesitantly into the room after letting themselves into the mansion. The pair then announced to the Professor that they were both sorceresses ready, willing and able to join in any attempt to defeat Apocalypse. 

All the students who knew the girl were stunned by the news, especially her boyfriend who'd never been given a clue. Overwhelmed by all the shocks of the past few days, the blue boy lost all traces of his notorious appetite and ported quietly from the room as Amanda looked on sadly.

The large gathering of volunteers now at the school would be needed in the days, perhaps weeks or more, to come and Xavier knew that the adjustments would be slow and painful to make for many members of the team. He only hoped that Kurt had enough forgiveness in his soul to cope with the great traumas he was being dealt at this time.

~*~*~

A laughing Pyro let himself into the Brotherhood Boarding House as all the occupants were just beginning to stir.

John ignored the glares and questions of Fred, Lance, Pietro and Todd to focus his attention on the sight of a delightfully rumpled Wanda yawning and stretching her way down the stairs, no yet aware of their guest.

"Well, now that's a jolly good sight for a mate to see first thing in the mornin'."

The Scarlet Witch froze mid-yawn to glare at the older boy and fling out an arm to send him flying back against the wall.

"What are you doing here?" she snarled.

"Now, now, sheila, relax. Didn't mean no harm by it, twas paying ya a compliment," the pinned young man grinned.

"That doesn't answer my question!" she moved closer to the 'intruder.' "Is my father with you?"

"Well, now, pet, I hate ta be the one to inform you of this but ol' Mags is dead. That's why I'm here. The blokes have all split up, Sabes went off on his own, Remy and Pete are with the goodie-two-shoes over yonder and I'm settling in here."

"We've got no way of knowing he died!" Pietro darted in front of the other boy to shout.

"Well sonny, I know you loved your pops and all, but I think we can all take the facts that we saw him get evaporated on the news last night and that he's not tried to contact anyone to say he hasn't been killed pretty much says the man faced his last foe."

"You're not welcome here, flamer, go join the rest of your crew with the X-Men," Lance ordered.

"No," Wanda said quietly as she released her invisible hold on Pyro. "I he can stay here."

She moved her brother aside to stand before the new member of their team, "If you ever mention Magneto again, though, you'll be lucky if all I do is throw you out."

Shaking off the confusing emotions that had been plaguing her since they all saw the broadcast late last night, Wanda made her way into the kitchen to see if they had anything suitable to eat this morning.

She'd wanted her father dead for so long, even if she no longer remembered why she'd felt that way. She didn't know why it was so gut wrenching for her to imagine him actually gone from this Earth.

__

It's too soon for anyone to know for sure what happened to him, she thought firmly, _we've no way of knowing if whatever Apocalypse had done to Magneto had actually killed the father she'd long though indestructible._

~*~*~

Logan reluctantly woke the girl sleeping against his chest so that he could move from the bed. 

Her eyes, red and swollen from all her crying in the night, opened instantly at his actions.

"Don't leave me," she whispered with a gloved hand wrapping around his wrist.

"I'm not going far, darlin'," he whispered back while brushing some hair from her cheek with his free hand. "I saw a fast food joint just down the road from here when we pulled into town last night and I'm gonna run over and get us some breakfast."

The mere mention of food had her stomach growling, which made them smile a little at each other. Still smiling she pushed herself upright and prepared to get out of bed and go with him to get the food.

"No," he gently urged her to lay down again, "you get some more sleep."

"But - "

"It'll be ok, Marie. The place is just a minute from here and I'll be back in a jiffy. Last night was pretty rough on ya, get all the rest ya can."

"Get me pancahkes and meat. Don't much care which kind, just meat," she ordered with a yawn while nodded her acceptance of his words, "and orange juice."

Resisting the urge to again brush back her hair, he forced himself to concentrate on filling both their empty stomachs and stepped into his boots.

Standing in the open doorway of their motel room, he looked back at the bed with a smile as he saw her sleepy eyes watching him leave.

"Don't open the door for anyone while I'm gone and I'll be back before ya know it," Logan promised as he slowly left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

As he climbed onto his motorcycle outside the room to head over to the restaurant, his nostrils flared as they detected a hint of something familiar in the air. Turning his head rapidly in every direction he focused all his senses on identifying the scent and it's source, but there was nothing. 

No figures lurking in shadows, no approaching footsteps, no hair standing up on the back of his neck to indicate a threat present and when he inhaled again, no scent. 

Writing it off as a fluke or hunger pang, he strapped on his helmet and left the parking lot to get their breakfast.

~*~*~

Eyes gleaming, Mesmero watched the Wolverine drive away with a satisfied smile then moved quickly from his hiding place.

__

These mutants of Xavier's just made it too easy for him.

Knowing his time was limited the mind controller focused upon Rogue with the room he now stood outside.

Within seconds the girl obeyed his summons and opened the door to stand before him in a trance.

He turned to the side and made a sweeping motion with his arm, indicating she was to walk past him.

Without hesitation, the girl did just that, walking past his smirking figure to the pickup truck awaiting their quick departure. Gloating Mesmero shut the motel room door then climbed behind the wheel of the vehicle to get his two bundles to Master as soon as he possibly could.

In the rearview mirror he saw the Wolverine's bike parked outside the fast food establishment the oblivious man was currently inside.

Confident Apocalypse would be pleased with him for this, the mutant happily stepped on the gas and began putting as much distance between himself and the surely to be infuriated Weapon X he'd just stolen the Rogue from.


	5. Impatience

A/N: Sorry for the delay in uploading something new. I've been pouting over the lack of continuation to the Impact episode in "No Good Deed," but I've stopped that now am an writing things as I want them to be. 

A reminder that this chapter, as will the whole series contains characters known only in the comic verse – not yet introduced to the Evolution series. I am not incorporating any of the plots from the comics though as they do not suit my needs. I am simply putting in characters I like and manipulating them as I please. *maniacal, mad scientist like laughter fills the room*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

Impatience

Pulling his motorcycle off the road, Logan brought the machine to a full stop and raised his nose to the wind to search for any lingering trace of Marie. It had been about ten miles since he'd caught a trace of her passing in this direction, but the road forked at this point and his animal senses couldn't detect which way Mesmero had taken her.

Growling in frustration at that fact, he tore out his communication device and flipped it open.

"Anything?" he snarled into the mouthpiece.

"I'm sorry, Logan, Cerebro has been unable to detect any traces of Mesmero or Rogue in the area or anywhere since you notified me of the situation," Charles instantly responded to his friend's question. "I hate to say this, but it appears they've simply vanished."

"No one just vanishes, Charles, the worm's taking her to Apocalypse. I know and so do you. We have to get to Mexico."

"Logan, I understand your concern for the girl but we cannot be as foolish as Magnus was and simply rush into confrontation with a mutant as advanced and unknown as Apocalypse," Charles tried to reason. "Your presence is needed here with the team so that we can better prepare to face him when we know more. There's nothing else we can do for Rogue at this time."

With a roar of fury and impotence at the situation, the Wolverine threw the fragile little communicator to the pavement where it instantly shattered upon impact. 

Shoulders slumping forward he tried to ignore the thoughts of failure and loss swirling in his brain. He tried to suppress the anger and growing desperation within him as the minutes Marie had been missing ticked slowly into hours. 

Slowly he gained control over himself and the beast raging to get out, but the Wolverine remained just beneath the surface, ready to leap out in attack the moment it had the opportunity.

As rational as he was sure he was going to be in this situation, Logan again focused his every sense on the fork in the road and tried to find some clue of the direction Marie had been taken. 

There was none.

He'd left her alone for five minutes and now she was gone.

__

Vanished into thin air, just as the Professor had said.

Staring down the road with cold determination settling into his dark brown eyes, he vowed that somehow he would find her again though.

The fact that he had to wait and retreat from the search for even and second laid heavily upon his shoulders along with his stupid error that had led to this current mess.

__

I never shoulda left her alone, he thought for no less that the thousandth time as with a defeated sigh he started his bike and turned it toward Bayville and away from wherever Rogue may now be.

Firmly shaking off the feelings of guilt, he focused on his driving and put the bike into its highest gear to race back to the mansion.

~*~*~

"I had begun to worry about you, my friend," Charles said as he greeted Logan in the foyer at the institute. "I was unable to reach your communicator."

"It got broke," the man snarled. "What's with all the company?"

"Ah, yes, I'd forgotten you'd be able to sense our new arrivals. We've had many people join us today to assist the X-Men however they can against En Sabah Nuhr."

"Which one parked their bike in my space?"

"That would probably be mine," said a young leather clad man who strolled into the foyer.

Logan's eyes locked on the white streak in the young man's otherwise brown hair and growled as the sight reminded him of Marie and her trademark streaks.

"Who tha hell are you?"

"Nate Grey," the man replied extending a hand to shake, "you must be the infamous Wolverine the students here have talked so much about."

The hand extended was ignored as Logan looked around the boy to stare at Charles with an arched brow.

"Nate is one of quite a few guests we have with us, Logan. As they're all here to help us as needed in this time, including in any mission we launch to help Rogue, I'd like to suggest you go against the grain and be hospitable toward him," the Professor stated.

"Move your bike, now," he growled. "If its not too much trouble for ya, kid."

Laughing at the man's attempt at courtesy, the newcomer simply turned on his heel and continued on to the kitchen where he'd been headed after leaving the rec. room and making his way into the foyer.

"That the kind of character you're welcoming in today?"

"He appears to be something of an enigma compared to the others, but yes, we've been graced with the presence of a few particularly unusual guests," Charles turned his wheelchair toward the rec. room. "I believe they're having a rather impromptu meet and greet session if you'd like to join in."

Momentarily curious about the strangers on his turf, Logan followed the Professor into the very crowded room where the team was gathered with a mix of unknowns and vaguely familiar faces. 

And a few very familiar ones, as well.

"Welcome back, Porcupine," he growled with a half-smile at Evan who was in a group with Ray and the majority of strange faces.

The sight of Magneto's lackeys Colossus and Gambit had him growling and tensing slightly in preparation of battle.

"Relax, big guy," Remy said the second he noticed the evil eye he was getting. "We're not here as part of some scheme, we're here to help get the guy who took out Magneto and hopefully stop him from ending the world."

Seeing how the duo was settled among the team and seemed to be harmless, the Wolverine relaxed and looked down at Charles to begin the introductions if that's what he was there for.

"May I have everyone's attention please?" the Professor said over the various conversations in the room.

When he had their attention he called the new arrivals forward with a wave of his hand.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is Logan codenamed Wolverine. You missed meeting him this morning, so please make your introductions now."

For a moment no one moved, then two people stepped forward – one a female with unusual long, purple hair and the blonde male.

"I am Lady Elizabeth Braddock also known as Psylocke and this is my brother Brian who goes by Captain Britain in most circles," the female said in a very ladylike British tone.

"Warren Worthington called Angel for the obvious reason," stated another blonde man who stepped forward with a flutter of his white feathered wings.

"Remy LeBeau," Gambit called out with a careless wave from the couch he remained sitting at.

"Piotr Rasputin," Colossus said as he stepped forward to stand next to the other's who had completed introductions.

The older of a pair of mocha skinned females spoke up next, "I am Margali Sefton and this is my daughter Amanda. I've never been much for aliases, but Amanda often goes by Daytripper."

No one else seemed to be ready to speak up yet, so Logan took a moment to study the just identified girl.

"Aren't you tha elf's girlfriend?" he asked while noticing for the first time that Kurt was absent from this gathering.

Amanda said nothing in response to his question, she simply bit her lip and dropped her slightly upset gaze to the carpeting.

Finally a woman approached from the last group of unidentified newcomers. She wore a patch over one eye and worn old army fatigues. It was quite obvious she was a fighter and the leader of this group.

"We are the Morlocks," she began, "I am Callisto. With me are Caliban, Healer, Stall, Cybelle, Scaleface, Lucid and Plague. I believe they are the best suited among our ranks to assist you against Apocalypse."

"How ya figure that, lady?" Logan asked skeptically, moving to stand before Stall. "This one's just a child, for Pete's sake."

Before the man knew what had hit him, said child removed one of the gloves she wore and placed one of her bare oversized palms against his arm.

The touch instantly froze Logan as he was, smirking skeptically and waving a dismissive hand in Stall's direction.

~*~*~

"I do believe I warned you to be nice, Logan," Charles said as he failed to bite back a smile when his friend finally regained the use of his limbs.

"Ya coulda warned me some of them were sensitive," the man groaned as he stretched his tingling muscles. "What'd she do to me?"

"Its difficult to know for certain, considering the child seems unable to speak and communicate to us the specifics of her mutation, but it is quite obvious that she's able to completely immobilize a person for hours with only the slightest touch of her hand."

"And she did this to me, because … ?" Logan asked with an arched brow.

"I imagine it was because she felt offended by your tone when you called her a child."

Making a mental note to keep his mouth shut around that girl, he focused on something else from the meeting with the others.

"That Callisto mentioned that she 'chose those best suited for facing Apocalypse.' What's she mean by that?"

"It is her belief that he has some kind of invulnerability that only one with powers such as Caliban can weaken to allow Apocalypse to be defeated."

"And how would this Caliban do that?"

"From what I've gathered in the short time I've known him, Caliban is a highly advanced mutant capable of inflicting great mental damage on others. He assures me that he would be able to infect Apocalypse with a virus that weakens the mutant's powers to the point where he can be destroyed by normal means."

"Yeah, and I'll wave a magic wand and we'll all be nice normal humans," he said skeptically.

"Logan, for the first time since Apocalypse was freed I have hope again. I am not a foolish or fanciful person who'd pin that hope on something that can never happen," Charles said rather sternly. "These mutants who have joined the team today are not the novices we're used to. The Braddock twins had been operatives for Great Britain's branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. since their powers manifested a year ago. They're skilled warriors with excellent control of their mutations.

"Though we both disagree with his beliefs, Magneto trained Colossus and Gambit well. The Morlocks are rather unknown, but their powers are daunting. Each one of them has taken to life in the sewers because their mutations have proven to be too much for interaction with the human world. During their isolation they've learned to cope with those powers surprisingly well and now I can help them focus on controlling them for maximum effect. We have today a formidable opposition to whatever Apocalypse chooses to do next. Do not ridicule it again. Have faith in these people who are willing to sacrifice all to help us, Logan. They're the only chance you have of getting Rogue back."

Growling as that remark struck a nerve, Logan glared at his friend.

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Be patient with us while we plan some kind of strategy. Train this new team to work together. Prepare with them for whatever is to come."

"And Rogue?"

"We'll have to assume that Mesmero has taken her and what remains of Mystique to Apocalypse. Working from that assumption, we find some way to penetrate the shield he's erected around that temple. Once we have that and some kind of battle plan in place to defeat him, we'll make our move."

"That could take forever," he snarled.

"With so many of us focused on this matter, I'm hoping we can come up with something in a few days."

"It's still too long, Charles. You don't know how fragile she is after all this. She's so close to the edge whatever they've planned for her may destroy her. The longer we take, the less time Rogue's got."

"Your impatience is understandable, Wolverine, but also unacceptable in this situation. Your emotions are too involved in the matter and if you persist in wasting our time arguing this same point over and over rather than trying to help us grow stronger, you will not be included in our plans," the Professor said grimly. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Logan snarled before stalking furiously from the infirmary he'd been taken to.

Though his rational side understood and agreed with Charles' reprimand, his animal instincts continued to cry out for action and revenge.

Aimlessly, he stalked the institute's hallways arguing the two sides. His wandering footsteps ground to a halt outside the closed door of Marie's bedroom. With a growl rumbling softly through his chest and pressed his forehead against the wooden panel.

__

We'll find ya, darlin'. I swear ta God, somehow we'll find you.


	6. Revived

**__**

Revived

Rather than waking up in the motel room she'd spent the night with Logan, Marie was stunned to find herself lying upon a stone slab in some big creepy stone room with one killer headache.

"Logan?" she called out as she held her aching head, even though she knew he wasn't here.

His name echoed around the chamber and she followed the sound as it bounced off the walls, looking for something to indicate she was not alone in this strange place.

All she found was the burning torch on the wall that was shedding light in the otherwise pitch black darkness. 

Goosebumps rose over her skin as the whole situation was just plain scary. She sat up on the slab, drew her knees up under her chin and tried to think rather than just freak out.

But she didn't really want to think, because these events where horribly familiar to those of a few weeks ago.

Her awakening from something that didn't really feel like it had been sleep to find herself in some weird ancient monument could only be the work of Mesmero again.

__

How did he get outta prison though?

"It helps to have friends as powerful as Apocalypse," the man of her thoughts startled her by saying from the shadows of the room. "He is ready for you."

For a moment all that sank through her fright was Mesmero's tattooed face emerging from the darkness to approach the table she sat on. Then his words registered in her mind and her eyes widened in horror.

"Ready fer me fer what?"

"All will be revealed to you in time, child," the cloaked mutant extended a hand. "Do you come willingly or must I again put you under my control?"

Not wanting this villain to do whatever the heck it was he kept doing in her head, she hopped down to stand next to him but refused to take his hand. With much more bravado than she felt she snarled at the lackey, "Let's get this ovah with."

Without further discussion, she was led through a series of dark corridors that actually had her wishing she'd taken the jerk's hand so she didn't feel so lost and alone in all the creepiness.

Finally there was light at the end of their journey, which appeared to be the main chamber of this place.

Torches illuminated every nook and cranny of the large room, for which Marie was grateful as she followed Mesmero down the staircase that lead to the ground level.

The first thing her green eyes locked on was the scattered bits of very familiar stone laying on a slab in the center of the chamber.

Coming to an abrupt halt at the base of the stairs, she gasped in shock and turned her head sharply from the sight of her shattered adoptive mother. 

__

Her shattered adoptive mother whom she had shattered and killed, Marie thought with fresh tears at her actions springing to her eyes.

__

~~ She has not been killed. ~~

Gasping once more, this time in fright, she looked around the room for the source of that telepathic statement.

__

Apocalypse.

Seeing the ancient mutant with that unnatural glow around his body, which was hovering at least a foot off the stone floor, made Marie feel decidedly faint.

__

~~ Do not worry, Rogue. You are not here to be harmed. You are here only so that I may repay you for restoring my life. ~~

That failed to reassure her any and she stumbled backward into the forgotten body of Mesmero.

The mindbender steadied her, then responded to a wave of Apocalypse's hand and left the room with a bow to his master.

__

~~ You have no reason to be afraid, girl. ~~

__

No reason? 

A nearly hysterical laugh escaped her lips at that statement as she thought of how this man had defeated the best members of the X-Men, together with the Acolytes, by simply clapping his hands. 

Frowning as he again pried into her thoughts, the powerful mutant lowered himself to the ground and removed his Egyptian headpiece to shake loose his long black hair.

"You and this one," he motioned toward the remains of Mystique, "have freed me from my confinement and restored me to life. In time you will come to see that I am sincere in only wishing to repay you for your assistance."

"It ain't lahke Ah wanted ya out," she automatically responded to his words. "If it hadn't been fer that little worm ya've got doin' yer biddin' Ah woulda helped tha team destroy yer ass."

"I am not so taken with you as to fail in noticing that fact myself, Rogue, but it is of little consequence. The fact remains I am free thanks to the actions of you and your mother, for that I am in your debt," he extended a hand and moved toward her.

Even though he looked almost normal now that he wasn't all floating, she still backed away rapidly at his approach.

"Whaddya want?!" she demanded as he pursued her up a few steps before she stumbled and fell to her butt on the hard stone.

"That will be revealed in time, Rogue," he bent to use his extended hand to help her up. "For now I wish to discuss what you want."

"Ah wanna get out of here."

He laughed at that. 

A deep, booming laugh that echoed off the stone walls quite eerily.

While he was distracted by whatever he'd found so amusing, Marie tried to scoot up some more stairs and get further from him, but he sensed her intentions and stopped laughing to grab her wrist.

His bare hand touched the small sliver of her flesh that was left exposed by the space between the end of her glove and shirt sleeve, but he showed no reaction whatsoever.

__

Oh mah Gawd, her mind registered with horror, _mah skin don't affect him._

Swallowing down the panic that rose within her at the realization, she did what her body had wanted to do the second she'd seen herself in Apocalypse's captivity.

She fainted.

~*~*~

Though she wanted to tell herself it had been one freaky bad dream, Marie knew exactly where she was when she hesitantly cracked upon one heavy made up eye. 

Her stiff muscles told her she was again laying on solid, unforgiving stone and her green eyes saw the torches blazing all around her. 

She was where ever tha hell Apocalypse was.

"We are in what is known as Mexico, I believe," spoke the devil she thought of, "an ancient Mayan pyramid called the Castillo, if you wish to know our exact location."

"Whah am Ah here?" she pushed herself upright to demand of the villain standing just a few feet away from her.

"You must stop seeing me as a villain, Rogue, I am not one. I am simply a warrior in a war that started long ago. A war against people who would see all like us dead from the most gruesome deaths imaginable," his dark eyes gleamed into hers. "A war I intend to finish."

"Bah what? Destroyin' the world? Ya don't see tha villainy in that?"

"I've no desire to destroy this planet. It's far too resourceful for that."

Frowning, her thoughts turned toward a single question, but he raised a hand to stop her from asking it.

"That will be discussed later if you must have the information to be calmed. I believe we have kept your mother waiting long enough."

His words startled and confused her for a moment until she remembered the brief glimpse she'd gotten of Mystique's remains in the chamber just before she'd become preoccupied by the presence of this mutant.

Hand going to her gasping mouth, her wide green eyes flew around the room until they landed on the table those stone fragments laid upon.

Without conscience thought, Marie found herself sliding off the table she was on to approach her adoptive mother.

"Whah's she here?" she asked in a broken whisper after staring down at the shattered stone face of Mystique.

"The same reason you are, so that I may repay my debt to her," Apocalypse said as he moved to stand on the other side of the table.

"How can ya do that? She's dead," Marie stated as she turned her back on the table.

"No she is not."

"Look at her!" she turned back around to furiously wave a hand over the scattered bits of stone. "Thare ain't nothin' left. She's dead and Ah - "

"You did not kill her, Rogue. She cannot die in this form. She is in essence frozen within the stone, whatever shape the stone may take."

"No," Marie tried to refute what the mutant was telling her. "No one could suhvive lahke that!"

Deciding that there was only one way to do this, En Sabah Nuhr rearranged the scattered pieces of Mystique with a wave of his hand. Clenching that hand just a little he was able to fuse the stone together in the form the shapeshifter had been frozen when she opened the final door barring his freedom.

Rogue gasped and again turned away as the expression of horror on that restored stone face proved too much for her guilty conscience to bear.

While she was trying to suppress the confusing emotions swirling inside her, Marie failed to notice the other mutant rounding the table to stand behind her until she felt his hands removing her left glove.

"What are ya - " she began.

The rest of her snarled question was lost as he placed her hand upon the solid stone arm of Mystique. 

Instantly agonizing pain shot through her body from the contact and she knew that it was her adoptive mother's pain. Screaming with rage at Apocalypse for forcing this upon her and herself for ever destroying the statue, she tried to tear her hand free only to find it stuck like glue.

Though her tightly shut eyes did not see it, the stone slowly began to change into familiar blue skin. 

First it was the arm that Rogue was touching. The surface under and around her hand changed until the arm stiffened then jerked repeatedly as blood and life flowed through it once more.

Then it was the shoulder that joined that arm to the rest of her body.

The life began to flow faster back the shapeshifter as Marie's absorbent skin drew out the curse that had entrapped her.

Within a few moments, Mystique's lungs, throat and mouth were returned to normal. A split second and deeply inhaled breath after that, the older woman let loose a nightmarish scream of agony, anguish, horror, pain and rage.

Yellow eyes blinked back to life and slowly focused on the girl clutching her arm.

Memories of her time in the stone prison only her feet had yet to be freed of, causing the shapeshifter bolt upright on the table and shove Rogue away from her with every ounce of her returning strength.

Marie flew backward and slammed into the table she'd been laying upon a few minutes ago before falling to her knees and covering her ears with her now free hands.

Above her Mystique's agonized screams turned to shouts of rage.

The words were muffled by her hands, as Rogue tried to block this reality out. Sobbing uncontrollably, she rocked back and forth on her knees, chanting over and over again "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?! You don't know the meaning of the word! Yet," Mystique said furiously before slamming her fist into the distraught girl's cheek.

__

Logan Ah need you, was Marie's last thought before blissful blackness enfolded her.


	7. Confrontations

A/N: This chapter contains a fair bit of drama and angst and a healthy dose of a rather somber Kurt. Some may also consider it the point where the story begins getting a tab whimsical. Still, if you've come this far, read on and hopefully enjoy.

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**__**

Confrontations

With a snarl Logan jerked from his restless sleep to look quickly around himself.

He was alone in his bed in his room at the institute.

Rogue – _Marie,_ he corrected as he had been given the privilege of knowing her identity – was no where to be seen.

But he'd heard her.

As clearly as if she'd whispered the words into his ear, he'd heard her.

__

"Logan Ah need you."

Furiously he rolled from the bed, unleashed his claws and went around the room destroying every piece of furniture in it except the large bed.

Panting from the outburst, he looked at the ruined antiques he'd told Chuck not to bother putting in his room and retracted his adamantium blades.

Growling softly in his throat he sank down on the corner of his mattress and dropped his dark head into his hands.

He wanted to tell himself he'd only been dreaming, but the Wolverine within him knew that somehow it's mate had called out to them for help.

And they were both powerless to provide that help yet.

~*~*~

From his perch atop the refrigerator Kurt's pale yellow eyes watched Logan stalk into the kitchen.

"You cannot zleep eizher?" the boy asked quietly in the darkness.

Lost in his thoughts the man had failed to detect anyone in the room he entered and so with a snarl he automatically unsheathed his claws and prepared to attack.

Knowing he was safe where he was, the Nightcrawler did not react to the show of aggression.

After a moment the Wolverine identified Kurt in the darkness, sheathed his claws and flicked on the kitchen light.

"Ya got a death wish now, bub?"

"Not quite. Contrary to vhat everyvone here thinks I still find life quite vorth living," the boy stated quietly.

Nodding distractedly, Logan opened the fridge and scrounged around until he found one of his beers hidden in the back of the vegetable crisper. 

With an angry growl, he noted that it was the last one and wondered who'd dared get into his stash.

"How vas she vhen you saw her?"

The question startled the man more than Kurt's jumping down to stand in front of him. For a moment he simply stared at the elf with his brow arched in surprise.

"D'ya really care?"

"She is mein sizter. Nozhing zhat happens since zhe moment I accepted her as zhat vill ever stop her from being mein sizter," yellow eyes lifted to meet dark brown ones. "I care very much how she vas vhen you saw her."

"I don't really know what ta tell ya, Kurt," the man sighed and took a gulp of his beer. "She was sorry. Above all else, she was sorry she'd done it."

Having already guessed that much the boy smiled weakly and looked at the floor.

"Vhen are ve going to find her?"

"The Prof.'s put me on a pretty short leash in that department," Logan finished his beer and dropped the bottle into the trash. "Orders are to sit on our hands till the brainiacs think up some master plan."

"Vhenever you go, I go vith you."

"Ya sure you're up for it, kid?"

Kurt's yellow eyes again lifted to meet the older man's.

"Vhenever you go, I go vith you," he repeated before leaving the room quietly on his three toed feet.

Ducking quickly back into the shadows of the hallway, Amanda tried to hide so he would pass by without knowing she'd been eavesdropping.

With a flick of his tail, the Nightcrawler came to a stop no more than two feet in front of her.

"Vhy are you still here?"

His back remained to her and Amanda sighed at the coldness of the question.

"I can't leave. Mother and I - "

"Are mutants, just like me," he interrupted while looking over his shoulder at her. "Funny zhat I only learn zhat razher important fact today and not at any ozher point during all zhe months ve dated."

"I," she sighed and hesitantly approached him, "I don't blame you for being angry, Kurt. I should have told you. I just … I just never found the words."

"Vell now you can stop looking for zhem, Daytripper," he deliberately used the alias he had learned to be hers, "I know longer vant to hear anyzhing you might say."

Gasping with complete shock at the words she tried to grab his shoulder and turn him to say that to her face, but he teleported away and her hand fell uselessly though the sulfuric vapor left by his actions.

Moving that hand to her mouth to stifle the sob she felt ready to escape she fled up the stairs to the room she and her mother had been given for the night.

~*~*~

"I did not zhink sleep vould be too easy for you eizher tonight," Kurt said to announce his presence to the girl he'd just teleported behind.

Shrieking in fright, Wanda turned around and sent the boy slamming back into a tree in the yard she'd been pacing restlessly for the past hour.

"This is becoming a nasty habit, boy," she snarled as she approached him, hands blazing with blue energy. "I believe I'll break you of it once and for all."

"I did not mean to startle you, Vanda. I had every intention of knocking on zhe vindow to get your attention in a relatively normal fashion, but you vere alvready out here vhen I arrived."

"Why would you want my attention, X-Man?"

"I find I cannot be alone tonight. I am too hyper … too confused. You are zhe only vone who could possibly understand vhat I vreally feel," he straightened from the tree and approached her with a yellow glove encased hand. "And I zhink only I can understand you."

Again something in the creature's passionate yellow gaze spoke to and calmed Wanda, whose hands returned to normal and dropped down to her sides.

"Agatha told me what happened with Mystique. I'm sorry."

"Zhank you. I don't believe I've yet told you I am zorry about vhat happened to your fazher," Kurt smiled weakly at the girl. "I am sorry for your loss."

"There is no loss involved. He got what he deserved," Wanda said while turning to walk away from the elf.

"Zhe same can be said of mein mozher," her movements were stopped by his hand upon her shoulder, "but still somezhing inside me ist mourning vright now and I know it must be zhe same for you. Ve are alike in zhis, Vanda, ve do not have to lie to each ozher here."

Her first instinct was to say she wasn't lying, but that something inside her that he spoke of refused to let her. That tiny little something opened up and spread grief through her angry body, weakening the limbs that had been tensed with fury.

Amazingly a tear rolled from her blue eyes before she clenched then shut and tried to force these weak emotions back into their little hiding place.

"Let it out, Vanda. Ve only hurt ourselves by denying our pain and keeping it in."

Swiping away the moisture on her cheek, movement inside the house reminded her that the hoods she lived with would be pretty darn curious about her seeming to have a late night meeting with one of the X-Men.

Before she could say something along those lines, said X-Man gripped her hand and the world went black and blurry for a moment before steadying again around her.

Only now she was in a cemetery of all places.

"Zhis is a sacred place. I alvays find peace in zhese places," Kurt explained as he sat on a stone bench set before a grave with a large guardian angel statue above its tombstone.

"You're kinda creepy, ya know that?" Wanda said as she looked at him suspiciously and moved to put some distance between them.

"Its zhe zhree fingers. Zhey veird everyvone out at first," he joked as he turned on his image inducer.

"Now, it's the coming to my house at whatever hour of the night this is and bringing me to a graveyard."

"I see your point zhere, but let me show you vhy zhis is not a place to fear," he took her hand and pulled her around the grave until they stood next to the tombstone.

__

"Here lies Annabelle Morgan, beloved daughter. May Angels see her home." Wanda read the inscription aloud as that seemed to be what Kurt wanted.

When she looked at him puzzedly, he walked her over to another stone to read more touching words to and about the departed engraved upon the marble.

"Everyvone associates zhese places vith death, but zhey never think to connect zhe death back to life. Zhat ist vhy I come here. It ist vhere life and death, love and loss meet. Vhere ve, who go on living, say goodbye to those ve have lost and must let go of."

"I never thought of it that way," she whispered as she looked at an old photo of a husband and wife who laid side by side in the grave they currently stood by. "It still doesn't explain why you brought me here."

"Because ve could not talk at zhe Brozherhood House and I needed avay from zhe institute," his seemingly glowing eyes met hers in the night, "and ve both are living who must say goodbye to zhose ve have lost zhen let go of them."

Shaking her head at the effect that gaze continued to have on her she broke eye contact to wrap her arms around her waist and gaze briefly up at the sky.

"I can't believe he's really gone," Wanda sighed and found a bench to sit down on. "I wanted him dead or I thought I did and now he is and I … I don't know anything anymore."

"I know. Zhey have left us vith such questions zhat ve may now never know zhe answer to. Ve vere tied to zhem by blood, but zhat seemed to mean nozhing to zhem," he sat next to her. "As alvays, zhey have left us to suffer through zhere mess on our own."

"Not completely on our own, this time," the girl whispered with a sideways glance at the strange young man.

"No, not completely," he whispered back before they lapsed into an odd silence that was both awkward and comfortable at the same time.

Following her instincts, she cautiously gave in to the urge to rest her now weary head upon Kurt's shoulder. 

"I still feel like he's alive," the Scarlet Witch said into the darkness a few minutes later.

"I know," the Nightcrawler took her hand in his again for a friendly squeeze, "part of me cannot accept zhat Mystique is gone."

__

But she is, he thought with resignation as he looked up at the stars.

~*~*~

Jumping up from the floor she'd been knocked to for what she silently vowed would be the last time, Rogue blocked the kick Mystique had aimed for her and shoved the other mutant away.

"Enough!" she screamed.

"You get a few bruises and think that's enough?!" the blue skinned woman demanded furiously. "I laid in tiny little pieces after having every inch of my body broken up upon crashing against the cliff you shoved me over!"

Unexpectedly her adoptive mother swept her legs out from under her and Marie again fell to the ground.

"It'll be enough when I say enough!"

"Or when I've had enough," Apocalypse said calmly as he floated into the room the women occupied. "You have had some measure of justice, Mystique, but you are done now."

Forgetting for a moment how powerful a foe she faced, the shapeshifter turned on the man disrupting this fight and lashed out at him with a tightly clenched fist.

He slowly raised his left hand and with a mere flick of the wrist sent the woman flying back against a wall with enough force to dislodge some of the stones.

"What have you brought me here for?" she demanded after regaining the breath his actions had knocked out of her.

"Only what I have done. To restore your life for freeing me. You are now free to go."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"It matters very little what you believe. My debt to you has been repaid," he moved to help Marie to her feet while still talking to the older woman. "Mesmero will lead you out."

Mystique's yellow eyes flew to the entrance where the cloaked figure of Apocalypse's henchman stood. 

The man turned to the side and waved his arm to indicate that she was to pass by him through the doorway, but she ignored him to turn her attention to Rogue who was determinedly rising to her feet with no help from the ancient mutant who offered it.

"What are you going to do with her?" she demanded as her fury was forgotten and her maternal instincts kicked in.

"That is none of your concern," Apocalypse stated.

"But it is mahne and Ah'd lahke ta know what yer plannin' mahself," Rogue said with a groan as she rubbed her aching ribs.

"You have nothing to fear from me. I have no evil plots that involve bringing harm to you," he informed the girl.

"Do you expect us to believe that after being entrapped for all these centuries you've no plans for vengeance?" 

Apocalypse's dark eyes turned angrily toward Mystique for daring ask such a question, but still feeling some lingering debt to her for her willing assistance in freeing him, he answered.

"I care not what you believe, Mystique. Know only that my plans for the world will not impact Rogue."

"If yer gonna hurt mah friends yer gonna be hurtin' me," the girl spoke up.

"They will only be harmed if they are foolish enough to try stopping me. Every effort will be made to spare you harm, Rogue," the man assured her. "When this world is as it should be for us, you will be my queen."

Over En Sabah Nuhr's shoulder stunned green eyes meet equally disbelieving yellow ones as those words sank in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I'll be the first to admit that this chapter was a bit weird. Kurt rejecting Amanda in favor of Wanda? And finding comfort in a cemetery? I honestly could not tell ya where that all came from, but …. Somehow, I think it fits. At least it does with my still to be revealed plans for this the future in this series. *Muahahahaha* 

Could Kurt actually end up with Wanda who'd shown the Nightcrawler some rather uncharacteristic kindness in Impact? What about the chemistry I created previously between her and St. John? What madness is brewing in my mind?

All very good and valid questions to which I've not yet written the answers so it's really anyone's guess yet. :-P 

This is one of the first situations where readers & reviewers can have their say in the direction of the story. Which pairing do you prefer?

The next chapter will focus mostly on Rogue/Marie dealing with that last revelation from the big bad. Hopefully I'll have it whipped into shape shortly. Feedback, criticisms and suggestions always welcome! 

Peace out. :-P


	8. You Wanna What!

A/N: All readers know in advance that this chapter is intentionally funny 'cause I can't help writing a bit of humor and I saw it as the perfect place to slide some into the story. Hopefully the scene won't be too out of character for those involved, but if it is chalk it up to the unusual situations. Or simply my prerogative. :-P

Thank Yous:

Akia Starfrost, thank you for that great review. :-) I sooooo know what you mean about the show introducing such a powerful episode and then totally backing away from it. I completely flipped after watching "No Good Deed" because I'd so been expecting some really great follow up to Impact and when there wasn't I couldn't bring myself to write for like 3 days. I'm also thrilled that you like the Kurt/Wanda pairing. I, too, am rather fond of it now after writing that last chapter and there was a definite softness in the Scarlet Witch when she dealt with Kurt in the episode, so …. ya never know. ;-)

Fantasy-dreamer88, that is too cool! I did a quick web search on the Mayan ruins in Mexico, where Apocalypse went in Impact, and found the "Castillo" on the first website I visited and it looked a bit like the temple in the episode, so I used it. :-P 

Witch-Uk, thank ya and John/Wanda hasn't been ruled out yet. Many of the romances are very up in the air right now and will remain slightly unsettled for a bit. Such surprises can happen when lots of attractive people are thrown together in a chaotic, highly emotional situation! And I intend to make sure that lots of said surprises occur. *hehe*

Jo, *straightens hair on slightly swelled head* "Brilliant work" Thank God I've got that opinion in writing. :-P *hehe* Thank ya much for the sentiment and I shall endeavor to continue at such a level. :-)

Ziel1, I do love options in my writing and hopefully surprising my readers. This series is intended to keep everyone guessing about what plans are in progress, what love is blooming, and what the future holds. Don't worry though, all shall be revealed in time….. *pulls cloak over face and vanishes from sight* 

Winter Fire, *muahahah – stops cackling abruptly and clears throat* Madness? I know not of this madness you mention. You've got an excellent point in your review there … people think Logan's too old for Rogue … goodness gracious the idea of Apocalypse is utterly scandalous! I'd never actually pair her with someone who was quite likely there to see the pyramids of Egypt built … even though, he did have some very nice and shiny long black hair in that bit we saw of him in Horizons II and he looked rather young at that time, which was the time he was entombed and virtually frozen in all these thousands of years since… *hehe* But um … yeah, *clears throat* I'd _never_ pair him with Rogue. 

Black Phoenix, as you can probably tell, I looooooooove to leave my readers hanging. I know it's a super bad thing to do when I've just unveiled a plot twist and y'all are wanting to know what tha heck I'm gonna do next and then I've not even fully figured that out myself yet so the next chapter isn't posted for like days and you're soooo ready to pull your hair out or would give anything to reach through the monitor to strangle me, but …. *hehe* I can't resist. I'm immature like that. Plus …. Gets people to review and demand more, like blackmail or bribery. You know …. "So ya like what I'm doing, wanna see what happens next? Well I won't know that unless you review and if the story doesn't get reviews I'll think nobody likes it and I'll just have to scrap the whole idea." :-P *fusses again with hair* My horns aren't showing are they?

Elizabeth Braddock-Grey, thank ya for the reviews AND getting me past my little block to getting this chapter written. Yes, everyone I was stumped on what to write here until Nesa helped me find the right direction. Let us all be thankful to her. *hands everyone roses to throw at Nesa's feet* Hmm…a bit much? Nahhh. It's not like I'm demanding they bow before ya. Yet. :-P

Ok, now is there any other way I can draw this out?

Eh, can't think of one either, so on with tha show!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

You Wanna What?!

__

Ah will not faint again, Ah will not faint again.

While Mystique's incredulously shouted "What?!" continued to echo around the room, Rogue repeated the mental mantra with conviction as the wooziness she felt continued to spread throughout her swaying body.

Her disbelieving eyes fluttered for a second then focused on the far too serious looking mutant who stood before her.

Apocalypse sank from his freaky hovering position over her and took a step in her direction with a look of determination on his tattooed face that had her quickly looking toward Mystique for help.

__

Ah'm gonna faint, she thought gulping frantically at the approaching man.

With her eyelids fluttering she put a hand to her swirling head and fell back against a sarcophagus. 

Surprisingly, her adoptive mother rushed past the man to place herself between him and the faint girl to steady her.

"Back off," the shapeshifter snarled. "You're scaring her!"

Leaning gratefully against her mother, Marie forced herself to focus on the man who was obeying the command and moving a few steps away from them.

"That is not my intention," Apocalypse stated calmly. "She must become accustomed to my presence, though, and accept me in her life. As my queen she will spend her every waking moment with me or our children unless I am away at war. It is best she get over these foolish fears of me now."

__

"Queen." There was that word again, Marie thought as the world shifted in and out of focus.

"Look, buddy Ah ain't really queen material," she finally found her voice to try reasoning. "Ah just wanna trah and live as normal a lahfe as Ah can. If ya really wanna queen, Mystique is a far bettah choice for ya."

Yellow eyes widened with shock at that statement before Mystique pulled back a little to glare down at the girl she'd stepped forward to protect.

__

And this was the thanks she got?!

Feeling the woman's indignant disbelief, Rogue cringed and looked up at her with an apologetic shrug.

"You mother is a fine warrior and if she likes she is welcome to serve among my army, but you are the only one I desire," Apocalypse stated.

"Ya can't be serious?" she screeched before frantically looking around her for a place to run when he stepped toward her with a hint of said desire in his gaze.

"I am. I knew the moment I opened my eyes and saw you standing above me, ready to replenish my lifeforce, that you were destined to be my bride. You have purity, strength, and compassion that will serve our kingdom well."

__

He's delusional, Rogue thought. _But then a few thousand years locked in a box would probably fry a few of a anyone's more rational brain cells._

"Look, Ah - " she sputtered to a stop as words failed her.

__

Uh-oh, world is spinning again.

Mystique tightened her hold on her swaying daughter and turned to glare at the ancient mutant.

"This is all a little much for her right now. Do you think perhaps you could leave us alone?"

Thrilled by that suggestion, Marie straightened in her sorta mother's arms and looked hopefully at the man she'd be very happy to see leave.

__

The room, the country, the planet, the further he went the happier she'd be.

Sensing the direction of the girl's thoughts, the man glared at her until she shrank back in a bit of horror at seeming to have angered him.

That reaction proved Mystique's point that his presence was upsetting his intended, so the ancient mutant growled softly and glared at both females before turning to float from the room. An absentminded flick of his hand had Mesmero faithfully running after his master, leaving the women alone.

For a moment, Rogue was too relieved by the semi-privacy to think of anything but how good it was not to be near that strange man. Then she realized she was now alone with her very estranged somewhat mother who had done her best to beat the living crap out of Marie earlier.

Wearily, the girl straightened and moved away from the shapeshifter.

"I'm not going to hurt you, child, I've gotten that out of my system," the blue skinned mutant said with a slight sigh at how the girl withdrew.

"Ah guess Ah deserved it," Marie acknowledged.

"And I got what I deserved, so let's put that behind us and focus on the more immediate issue at hand."

"Ya don't think he really means it do ya?" she asked hopefully.

"He's a complete unknown to any of us, Rogue. I'm pretty sure he's sincere in that though," her mother replied.

"Couldn't ya have lied ta me or somethin'? This is really one of those tahmes ya'd be forgiven for sayin' everythin's gonna be all rahght even if we both know tha world's headin' ta hell in a hand basket," the girl sighed and hopped up to sit on the table she'd been leaning against.

"Ok, then, I'm sure he's still struggling with being free again after all this time and soon he'll return to his senses and let you go without further mention of the queen thing," Mystique said in a pacifying tone as she moved to sit next to Rogue. "Everything will be all right."

Rolling her green eyes, Marie looked at the woman and scoffed, "Liar."

"I believe you specifically asked me to lie to you."

"Since when have ya evah done anythang Ah asked ya too?"

"Now seems as good a time as any to start," the shapeshifter stated.

"Yeah, sure, kissin' up ta tha future queen of tha world."

"I really doubt Xavier and your other friends will allow such a thing to happen, Rogue."

"And they'll stop it how? This ain't one of yer hoods, Mystique. He's survahved thousands of years without anythang and he was tha most powerful mutant alahve before thay sealed him up. How's tha team gonna conquer that?"

"How do the twerps ever get anything done? They persist until the enemy is defeated of annoyed enough to annihilate them and speaking from experience I can say they're a damn difficult bunch to kill."

The reminder of all Mystique had done against the team was not a good thing in this situation and introducing it had Rogue jumping off the table with a glare.

"Ya've got no rahght ta talk about them lahke that. They're tha good guys. If it hadn't been fer you thay woulda saved tha day and stopped this lunatic from getting' out."

"I'm well aware of that," the woman sighed.

Marie watched in fascination as the other mutant's body slumped in defeat and actual guilt filled her yellow gaze.

"If I could undo it I would," yellow eyes lifted to lock with green ones. "I know you'll never believe this, but I did it to help you. Irene sees the future. She saw what your mutation would be and when those you absorbed would try to overpower you. She also saw that Apocalypse would rise again and he would hold our fates in his hands. I thought that by helping him, I would be assuring a favorable fate for us both."

"Haven't ya evah heard of self-fulfillin' prophecies?" Rogue groaned as she again sat next to her 'mother'. 

For a moment Mystique just glared at the girl who glared back until they both seemed to find the situation amusing and laughed.

It was probably just hysteria at their unbelievable circumstances, but it felt good so they continued to laugh.

"I can't believe my little girl's getting married," Mystique suddenly joked as she wiped a tear of laughter from her face.

"Shut up!" Rogue gasped with a shove to the other woman for making light of that particular situation.

"I know things have been *laugh* awkward between us lately, but *wicked cackle* I hope you'll invite me to the wedding."

Convinced there must be some kind of laughing gas pouring into the chamber, Marie again pushed at her so not funny adoptive mother who fell to the floor laughing at her own jokes. The sight of the villainess rolling around in stitches with her amusement had Rogue laying down on the table and laughing until her throat and stomach hurt.

Eventually all humor fled them as they laid on their backs and stared at the ancient stone walls of the temple around them. 

"Ah don't wanna marry him," the girl whispered.

"It doesn't look like you've any choice, Rogue," the woman on the floor said with equal quiet.

"Are ya sure you don't want him? Ah mean he seems yer tahpe. Very Magneto-ish and 'Ah-wanna-conquer-and-rule-tha-world-of-humans-that-snubbed-me-fer-evolvin-fastah-than-them.' Plus, ya've alwahys struck me as a wannabe queen."

"Gee, I'd thank you if you'd have bothered to throw in a compliment there," Mystique scoffed before jumping to her feet. "Is your opinion of me so poor?"

"Well look what Ah have ta base it on," Rogue sat up. "Ya abandoned Kurt when he was just a baby. Ya adopted me fer some unknown reason then dumped me on Ahrene ta raise. Then ya pop back inta mah lahfe when it's ahll startin' ta go ta hell 'cause mah mutation's kicked in and ya totally betray me bah pretendin' ta be tha X-Men so Ah'd join yer lil group of losahs. Once Ah learned yer little game, ya tried ta kill Scott and were willin' ta put me down with him. Still not satisfied, ya learned that Kurt was yer son and nevah made more than that one pathetic little attempt to reconcile with him. Then ya play at bein' a friend to me as Ritsy, ya lock up tha Professor ta make us all little pawns in tha games you and Magneto played, ya again try ta kill Scott and ta top it all off ya help Mesmero kidnap me ta free Apocalypse. Geez Louise do Ah owe you an apology. Ah shouldn't be critical of ya fer all that, Ah should be nominatin' ya fer mothah of tha Goddamned year."

"I never claimed to be perfect, but I have tried to help you. I deserve some respect for that."

Remembering the guilt she'd felt at thinking this woman dead and her own realizations that Mystique hadn't been completely evil, Marie bit back her automatic retort and sighed.

"Yer rahght. Ah'm sorry Ah," she sighed again, "it's just not an easy habit ta break now that yer alahve again. All tha evil-adoptive-mothah memories come pourin' back with ya …. ya know bein' here."

"I'm sorry I've made it so difficult for you."

They hesitantly looked at each other and eventually smiled in silently mutual forgiveness.

After a moment though, Marie's green eyes grew scared and confused again.

"How are we gonna get outta this mess?"

"You're not going to like the answer I've come up with to that one," the shapeshifter stated wearily.

~*~*~

"You wanna what?!"

"Rogue, think about this carefully it's the only way," Mystique said quietly in the most likely wasted hope that Apocalypse would not learn of her plans.

"No way. Ah am not stayin' here. Especially not ahlone with …" the girl stopped shouting to lean forward and whisper, "not with _him_."

"I promise not to be gone long and I think we can trust him not to harm you."

"Ah'm supposed ta trust ya ta come rushin' rahght back here with tha Calvary and him ta behave lahke a perfect gentleman tha whole tahme? Tha lunatic wants ta marry me. He thinks we're destined!" she whispered furiously.

"And it's apparent to me that he intends to woo you until you see things his way. If his intentions were anything else, you'd be under Mesmero's spell and quite happily saying 'I do' to the mutant."

"Who's ta say that ain't exactly what he'll do when ya leave?! He seemed pretty darn eagah ta get ya outta here."

"You fail to understand the workings of a mind such as his," she ignored the rolling of green eyes at her for that, "he's repaid me for my assistance and now sees me as unimportant. He wishes to focus solely on you now. I could stay or leave or run naked through this place screaming 'I'm a nympho needing powerful mutant sex now' and he wouldn't care."

The imagery worked like a charm to make Rogue forget her concerns and just laugh at the thought of the woman ever doing something like that.

"You'll really bring them ta get me?" the girl asked hesitantly once her giggles faded.

"My track record isn't that promising, but I do promise to get us both out of this mess somehow."

Biting her lip, Marie looked around the creepy room that hadn't seemed so creepy with Mystique in it with her.

Her options were keep the shapeshifter here indefinitely so she'd have the company of someone she knew or trust the woman to carry out the plan she'd laid out for her.

Wanting more than anything to find some way out of this Twilight Zone, she made her decision and raised her green eyes to meet with the yellow ones awaiting an answer.

"Don't let me down," she ordered while silently promising to use her status of queen to get even with the other mutant if she turned out to be lying once more.

"I won't."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANOTHER QUICK NOTE: I know, bad me again with the cliffhanger especially as it may be a bit before I can update. If you watch the news you're sure to have seen mention of hurricane Isabel approaching the eastern coast of the US. I live in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, not far from Washington, DC and it's so far being forecast that this whole area will be slammed by the storm toward the end of this week. Though I hope it all fizzles out, I begin taking precautions today to prepare for the possible bad weather and power outages that are anticipated, so writing may take a back burner for a few days til we see where this goes. I do already have a start on the next chapter and I'll work to post it asap, but please do be patient. 

Thank ya and I'll keep y'all posted, Mishka. :-)


	9. Strengths and Weaknesses

A/N: I'm back and I hope past my writers block. Yes, storm paranoia total drove all thoughts of this series from my mind for longer than even I like. Isabel has passed though and things went surprisingly well for my area. 

Quick Note: I don't feel very confident writing battle like scenarios with explanations of weapons and kicking, punching, fighting movements so this installment may seem a little lacking, but overall I think it turned out well to showcase the powers of a select few.

Thanks, etc:

Winter Fire, I don't quite know where that line came from but once it was written I knew it was a priceless keeper. :-P 

SailorSun1, both your requests for more Apocalypse and Rogue moments/interaction as well as an … entertaining reaction from Logan will take place in the next chapter or so.

Ziel1, Egyptian Rogue would be rather interesting to see … maybe in some of the more elaborate garb like Cleopatra. Let me know if you get something drawn up. :-)

Scholar, and all others thank you for you good wishes and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

Strengths and Weaknesses

"Why are we doing this again, mate?" St. John asked Pietro as he directed the flames of his flamethrower to surround and destroy a disc thrower that had just popped up out of the ground to their left.

"Because once again the X-Men need us to help save their butts and we're going to help them to get even with Apocalypse," the silver haired teen said before dashing off along the path to rescue a lovely damsel in distress.

Quicksilver wrapped an arm around Elizabeth's waist and dragged her from the firing path of a paint gun to save her from being tagged out of the session. When the world stopped spinning from the rapid race away from the weapon, Besty turned on the boy with a furious glare and unleashed her psionic blade.

"I can take care of myself, luv," she growled as she disabled two weapons at once. Her psi blade sliced through a disc thrower on the left side of the path while her katana blade cut into the paint gun on the right.

"Just didn't wanna see that lovely little outfit of yours mucked up by paint, slow poke," Pietro stated as his eyes slowly ran over the tight blue uniform with matching thigh high boots that the young woman wore.

With a groan and roll of her blue eyes, Betsy sheathed her blades and did a series of rapid back flips to remove herself from the firing range of the paint gun that shot up behind Quicksilver and quickly tagged the boy out of the game.

"And you call me a slow poke, luv?" she mocked as he rubbed at the large spot of yellow paint now decorating his uniform.

Suddenly she heard the familiar sound of her twin's sword being swung mightily through the air and she turned just in time to see Brian slice a disc thrower in half right behind her.

"Best stay alert and stop flirting with the fellows, luv," her twin stated as he withdrew his sword from the remains of the machine that would have tagged her out of the game.

"I'm not flirting with them," she said with a flick of her long hair. "They are flirting with me, luv."

"And who can blame us," Nate said as he drew to a stop beside the siblings. "A woman so lovely as you deserves constant flirtation."

She blew him a kiss for that remark and childishly stuck her tongue out at Brian before again unsheathing her katana blade to get back into battle mode.

The branches of the tree above them shook and a laser gun aimed directly at all three of them appeared on the scene. Instinctively the trio dove out of the weapon's path then rolled to their feet in fighting positions to take it out.

Nate beat the twins at destroying the machine though, by telekinetically ripping the gun from the tree and twisting it to a useless chunk of metal on the ground. 

Brian went to clap the man on the shoulder and applaud him for a "good show" while Betsy remained a little awestruck from having seen the raw power unleashed in the man at his actions. Though his left eye was now normal, it had glowed a beautiful shade of yellow with his telekinesis and she was a bit … taken by the display of strength.

Just then Scott burst on to the scene at a run with his hand at ready on the controls of his visor.

"How many have we got left?" the 'team leader' asked of the group.

"How many of what?" Nate asked to clarify.

"People left in this?"

"Well, there's us, luv," Betsy replied.

The earth beneath them began to rumble and quake sending the purple haired telepath stumbling against Nate who instantly wrapped a strong arm around her waist to steady her.

"I believe we can take that as a sign Avalanche remains active," Brian said in a clipped English tone.

"Let's go find him," Cyclops ordered before charging past the trio with complete faith that they'd obey.

"Bossy bugger isn't he," Betsy sighed even as she prepared to follow.

With a chuckle Brian took to the air to get a better view of the institute grounds where this massacre ..um… training exercise … was taking place. As he broke through the tree tops he saw the Warren was also flying above the scene and appeared unharmed.

"Been up here long, mate?" he asked the Angel.

"Only since one of those lasers tried scorching my wings," the man replied with a half smile.

"How goes the carnage?"

"From what I can see there are about ten still in this and an unknown number of weapons and traps. No matter how good the remaining ten are, I've no doubt we'll all be out of this within the next hour."

"Well then, chum, what do you say we go out in a blaze of glory?" Brian said with a cocky grin before swooping down toward a spot where Amara, Bobby and Ray were working as a team to blast weapons aimed in their directions.

Sighing in resignation the winged gentleman followed the other man's example but made his dive toward Betsy and Nate.

"Look out," the female telepath shouted as Warren's feet touched ground.

It was too late though, as he landed directly in front of the paint gun Nate had been prepared to take out.

Angel cursed with surprising creativity as the pristine white feathers of his wings were coated in thick yellow paint in the seconds before Betsy could knock him aside to slice her psionic blade through the machine.

"Tough break," Nate smirked with complete insincerity as the winged mutant was forced to leave the field having been tagged out.

__

~~ Play nice, luv. ~~

The telepathic male turned to Betsy with a sexily arched brow.

__

~~ Only with you, doll. ~~

She blushed slightly at his comment followed by a playful wink before getting back her game face and turning to search the course for more obstacles.

As the pair began making their way along the path to where they figured the remainder of the team to be, Warren groaned and stalked across the lawn toward the front of the institute where all the other losers were gathered.

"You need to pick your landing zones more carefully and stop trying to impress the girl," Logan growled as the young man took a set next to Jean.

Pietro, who'd gotten a similar criticism when he was tagged out, rolled his eyes at the man in charge of this exercise.

"How much longer are you gonna punish us, mate?" St. John asked as he rubbed the side of his head where he'd just been smacked by a flying disc he'd not seen coming.

"You need to spend less time on each target and don't get so fancy with the flames, Pryo," Wolverine critiqued while ignoring the Australian's question.

A quick look around the groaning mutants revealed that Amanda, Cybelle, Evan, Fred, Jean, John, Kitty, Kurt, Pietro, Piotr, Remy, Roberto, Scaleface, Stall, Tabitha and Warren had all been tagged out by the paint or disc weapons. 

Out on the course, still locked in the traps they'd fallen into were Callisto, Caliban, Healer, Jamie and Amanda's mother Margali.

That left Amara, Betsy, Bobby, Brian, Lance, Nate, Ray, Scott, and Wanda still in this thing.

The bunch watching had long stopped cheering on their teammates to defeat the machines and were now simply waiting for the last holdouts to fall so this exercise would be over and they could get some lunch and lots of Aspirin.

Logan's eagle eyes seemed to monitor every inch of the battlefield, which they actually did with the help of a handheld monitor that showed him the activity from the security cameras recording the action.

He frowned as Bobby pushed Amara into Brian's arms and took the laser blast intended for Magma. The Iceman shook off his ice shield and left the field with a slightly relieved sigh.

"Good move protecting Amara, but you shoulda have frozen the weapon rather than take the hit yourself," the man informed the most recent of the fallen as the boy flopped to the ground next to Tabitha.

"I'm iced out, man," Bobby informed their trainer with a grimace.

Wolverine nodded and returned to watching the last of the fighters.

Ray was the next one tagged out, having been distracted by a shriek from Amara as Lance started an earthquake around them to sink two paint guns beneath the ground.

The boy snarled at Avalanche for the maneuver before stalking off the field wiping furiously at the paint decorating his uniform.

Wanda, with both hands surrounded by electric blue, was calmly watching her fellow Brotherhood member's back as he took a moment to steady the young X-Girl that was leaning against his side.

For a minute, no weapons popped up from the ground or out of the trees to fire upon the mutants that began to stand together in the pathway.

Suddenly the ground beneath them all began to give way.

"Knock it off, Alvers," Scott was heard to yell as he tried to keep his balance.

"It ain't me this time, Cyke," the young man growled in response.

Sensing a trap, Nate grabbed onto Amara and Betsy while Brian, the stronger of the two males with the ability to fly, had Lance, Scott and Wanda hold on to him as they flew everyone away from the sinking ground to what they felt was a safe location.

The very second their feet touched ground in that location, weapons sprang up from everywhere and began firing blindly in their direction.

Betsy, Brian and Nate hurriedly threw up protective shields around themselves to prevent any damage, but the others did not have such powers.

Amara was just gearing up to launch lava at two laser guns when a disc hit her from the left and a blast of paint splattered over her right side.

Lance was taken out of the session when a disc caught him in the back of the head and sent him reeling to the ground. 

Scott dove and rolled away from several items flung his way, his visor firing rapidly to destroy and divert discs sent in his direction, but he too was tagged from behind when a paint ball hit and exploded against his lower back.

Wanda fought as best she could to keep projectiles from hitting her, but she couldn't see everything and was slammed in the ribs along her left side by two fast moving discs while her attention had been focused on disabling a paint gun to her right. Crying out at the sharp pain, she doubled over and fell to the ground clutching her side as the ammunition continued to fly around her.

"You must stop zhis now, Logan," Kurt jumped up to say as he watched the girl on the ground.

"It's almost over, elf," the man replied clearly not willing to call a halt to things until every team member had fallen.

Yellow eyes flaring, the Nightcrawler teleported into the fray placed, grabbed onto Lance and Scott and quickly ported them to the safety of where everyone else sat. 

Jean instantly rushed to make sure Scott was ok while Kurt went back for Amara and Wanda.

From their protective bubbles, Betsy, Brian and Nate were relieved to see the fallen mutants safely removed from the scene.

As the girls were moved to safety, the trio made their charges at the weapons surrounding them.

Brian swung his sword strongly through three machines while Nate's telekinesis twisted first one then another laser gun out of trees around them. Looking like the ninja she'd been trained to be, Betsy leapt past discs and lasers fired in her direction and mercilessly drove her psionic and katana blades into any firing hunk of metal she saw.

No matter how strong the three were, they had been on this field fighting these things for well over two hours now and their powers were tapping out. Wanting to hold onto their shields as long as possible the three halted all use of their powers except that.

The Braddock twins with their swords swinging sandwiched Nate safely between them as they all tried to get out of this shooting gallery.

With an angry curse, Nate turned to the path in front of them and watched a disc thrower spring from the ground. Even though it would weaken his shield to the point where it may prove ineffective, the dark haired man crushed the device with his mind like an empty soda can. Before the yellow glow had faded from his left eye from his actions he felt the impact of a paint capsule against his right shoulder.

Betsy allowed herself a gasp of surprise at his being tagged out before focusing more forcefully on the weapons determined to take her and Brian out as well.

__

~~ You take the high road and I'll take the low, luv. ~~

Brian turned to argue her telepathic suggestion, but saw that his sister was already racing along the path away from him.

Sighing, he took to the sky with the intention of drawing as much fire away from her as possible.

While in flight just hovering above the weapons hidden among the tree branches, he swung his sword with the same power he achieved on ground and disabled many of the nasty things.

On the ground, Betsy was showing signs of wear, but still had a wicked smile on her face as she ran and dove along the path with her katana blade slicing through machines that popped up around her before they even had time to prepare to fire at her.

Unfortunately a surprisingly large laser gun appeared from the fountain in the center of the courtyard and began fired at them both.

Instantly preoccupied with dodging the dangerous blasts and disabling the daunting weapon, the twins turned in that direction and ceased paying much attention to the field behind them.

Even as the twins' sword blades struck the laser at the same moment, they each felt a projectile slam into their backs and finally take them out of the game.

Both true warriors who despised any loss in combat, they instantly turned angry blue eyes to glare furiously at Logan for having put them through such a rigorous and unwinnable training session.

Neither of them cared about the ruins they left behind of an astonishing number of sophisticated computer driven weaponry. 

Nor did Brian take pleasure in the fact that Amara and Tabitha were looking at him with definite feminine appreciation. Betsy was equally uncaring of the fact that Nate, Pietro, Scott, Warren and even Logan were all admiring her for her fierce beauty and skills in battle.

Instead they both sheathed their swords and stalked across the lawn toward the man in charge of the exercise.

"You had better have gotten all you needed there, luv," Betsy said with a regal calm that belied the fury in her every tensed muscle. "I will not subject myself to such a waste of time again."

"If you're unwilling to face an unbeatable foe, Braddock, the runways of London's fashion district might be a better place for you than here going up against Apocalypse," Logan said with equal calm as he turned his back on her to address the others. "You all did an outstanding job this morning. We'll have a much easier session in the Danger Room tomorrow to work on building team spirit and cooperation in battle. Jean, Kurt, Scott and Ray take the injured to Hank in the infirmary. Everyone else hit the showers and prepare for lunch."

Finally released from the cages they'd been pinned in, Callisto, Caliban, Healer, Jamie and Margali all stumbled across the lawn to join the others all glaring daggers into Logan's back as he calmly walked into the mansion.


	10. Discussions

Thank Yous:

Elizabeth Braddock-Grey, thank you and your wish for Betsy and Wanda friendship shall be granted. Also, that Wanda video is da bomb!

Winter Fire, yes the Braddocks are incredible characters and I totally hope they get Evolutionized asap. :-)

The Scribe3, I do tend to pair Amara with Bobby for some reason, but so far in this fiction I've no plans for them to be linked romantically. I plan on changing up quite a few things in this series and I've come to think of another man for our Magma. It's not a pairing I've seen done before, but as I plan it out it works in my head so hopefully y'all will like it when it enters the story.

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**__**

Discussions

"That was some session," Charles said to Logan as the man stalked past him. "The infirmary is so full of battered students that I think it may need expansion if this is the way you intend to prepare them for facing Apocalypse."

"Don't worry, Chuck, today was a one off," the Wolverine growled as he came to a stop for the conversation the bald man obviously intended to have. "I had to see how they handle themselves in no win situations."

"And are you satisfied now?"

"I'll agree with you that we've now got a chance," Logan admitted before turning to continue on his way to the Danger Room.

"You do realize your exercise has left the institute without protection until all those weapons can be replaced," the Professor said sternly as he again halted the other man's progress.

"Our most vital defenses are still operational," he defended. "Even if they weren't we ain't got anything to worry about. Apocalypse won't be comin' 'round, Magneto and Mystique are dead and their lackeys are with us now."

Though he would have liked to discuss the severity of the training session he'd witnessed more thoroughly, Charles realized his friend was in no mood to talk and simply watched as the other man stalked from sight.

Sighing, the Professor turned his wheelchair toward infirmary to check on the students there. 

As he made his way through the building, he hoped that Logan was right in that they had nothing to worry about because Xavier's own instincts were telling him that they were about to get an surprise visit.

~*~*~

With a groan and the help of Kurt, Wanda sat upright on the bed she'd been laid on by the furry blue X-Man.

"Feeling better?"

"As good as I can for feeling like I've been hit by a truck," she said with a wince as her side protested her stretching. "No wonder you guys always kick Brotherhood butt if all your training is like that."

"Ve've not had much luck beating you all zince you joined zhe teamed," his yellow eyes twinkled a bit and they exchanged smiles.

"Lunch ready?"

"Zhat's vhy I am here. Vould you like me to bring you something?"

"I'm fine except for a little soreness. I can handle getting food myself," she said though his willingness to wait on her was heartwarming.

"You may change your mind about zhat vhen you see vhat a madhouse zhis place becomes at feeding time," he smiled at her as they began walking toward the elevator to head upstairs. "It's even vorse now zhat ve've got so many newcomers vith very big appetites."

They stepped into the lift and were silent for a moment as they each leant against a wall of the car.

"I haven't thanked you yet for last night," Wanda said suddenly while fidgeting with the rings on her fingers. 

"Zhere is no need. You helped me as much as I helped you."

The elevator arrived at the ground level and the doors opened.

Amanda, who'd been waiting for Kurt to return from the lower levels, gasped when she saw the pair smiling warmly at each other in the lift.

"Is that why you won't forgive me?" she asked the Nightcrawler with tears forming in her brown eyes. "Are you with _her_ now?"

Blinking in surprise at the questions the pair in the elevator exchanged a look then turned back to face the upset girl. As they both opened their mouths to explain, Amanda's hurt changed to anger and with a glare she turned on her heels and raced off toward the staircase.

"That can't be good," Wanda sighed in the direction the other girl had fled.

Kurt, the smile erased from his mouth, simply shrugged and stepped from the lift with a sigh of his own.

"Should I - " the Scarlet Witch began only to break off when he slowly shook his furry head in response to the question he knew her to be asking.

"It vould do no good. Zhings between us are … unsettled."

Having been given some idea of what was going on in his relationship with the newly identified 'Daytripper' the night before Wanda nodded in understanding. 

"Perhaps you should try settling them now," she said gently with a friendly hand on his shoulder.

"I … I just don't know how I vant zhem settled," he sighed with confusion in his gaze while he reached up to hold the hand she'd placed on him with his three fingered left hand.

"No matter how it may be settled, it's obvious you both need to talk," she brushed back some stray strands of his soft navy hair. 

He nodded in acceptance of her words and they exchanged weak smiles before he teleported away in search of Amanda.

Silently wishing him luck in coming to some kind of closure if nothing else, Wanda continued on to the kitchen and dining rooms she was sure to find the others.

Numerous conversations and scattered laughter told her that the area was jumping with mutants recovered from their torturous training session that morning.

"Good to see you up and about, luv," Betsy said with a smile as she moved to join the Scarlet Witch. "How are those ribs?"

"Sore, but not damaged."

"You did an excellent job out there. You've great control of your powers," the telepath complimented.

"It's taken some practice, but yeah, I can wield them pretty well now. How'd you and your brother get so good? I've never seen anyone fight so well."

"Let's just say it runs in the blood and rigorous training, luv. The more detailed explanations are so complicated they give me migraines."

Exchanging smiles they entered the kitchen and found it filled to capacity with mutants grabbing much needed food.

"Hiya, pretty, where you been?" Pietro asked as he rushed to Betsy's side and threw his arm casually around her shoulders.

Wanda rolled her eyes at her brother's actions then chuckled aloud as the girl beside her calmly raised a hand and removed Quicksilver's arm from her.

"The name is Elizabeth, luv," the telepath stated with a deliberate flip of long hair that sent the purple strands into his smug face.

"I think I like you," Wanda said as the other girl's actions made her brother all huffy and sulking.

"Wanda, there you are," Pietro said as her words finally alerted him to her presence. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank y - " she broke off with a glare as her brother raced off to flirt with Kitty before she could finish her response.

"Quite the player, isn't he?" Betsy smirked as she watched the Shadowcat roll her eyes at something the boy said before pushing him away to go back to her conversation with Colossus.

"In his delusions, yes," Wanda laughed at her brother being spurned by the X-Girl.

"Nice to see you up again," Nate said to Wanda as he stepped up behind the pair.

"Nice to be up," she responded. "Those discs are a bitch."

"I imagine so. Lance is still out cold from the one that clocked him."

"You all going to stand here chatting all day or eat?" Brian asked as he pushed past the trio in the doorway to make his way into the kitchen beyond them.

Nate gave Betsy a wink and smile before following her twin into the fray.

"We could wait until the rush subsides, but something tells me there won't be much left," Betsy observed as she saw all the boys in the room with plates heaped to almost overflowing with food.

Not really looking forward to the idea of going in and getting jostled all about with her sore side, Wanda wished she'd had Kurt bring her something in the infirmary.

"I don't mind a bit of a tussle," the girl beside her said, "I'd be happy to get you something."

Wanda blinked at the offer and Betsy blushed a little guiltily before tapping her head.

"Kind of overheard you worrying about your ribs meeting up with elbows in that mess."

"Oh," the Witch nodded with understanding. "Thanks for the offer. Could you get me some of that pizza I see floating around in there?"

"I'm on it, luv."

The young woman smiled and bravely dove into the gathering to grab a plate and start filling it with the requested food.

__

~~ Wow. They've got everything here, luv. What do you like on your pizza? ~~

Unused to communicating with telepaths, Wanda jumped at the question from Elizabeth that suddenly was heard in her mind.

__

Um … everything works for me, she thought in response after a moment.

__

~~ How many slices and want a soda to go with them? ~~

She considered the questions then answered with the thoughts, _Three and sure_.

"Voila," Betsy said a minute later as she returned to Wanda's side with a plate of pizza and an icy cold can of cola.

"Now that's service," the Witch said with a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"No probl - " Elizabeth's words stopped and her eyes widened as her telepathy sensed something out of place.

"What - " Wanda began only to break off and simply follow the other girl as she suddenly moved past her toward the foyer.

__

"Mystique?!"

In utter shock, the Scarlet Witch watched the blue skinned shapeshifter calmly close the front door she'd just stepped through.

~*~*~

"So you're telling me Wanda means nothing to you?" Amanda demanded again of Kurt as their conversation continued going in circles.

"No, I am not saying zhat. I am saying zhat she is mein friend now and I vill not listen to you insult her," he said with a sigh. "Besides, zhat is not vhat I am here to talk about."

"Why should I care what you're here to talk about? You weren't willing to listen to a word I had to say last night," she countered.

"Amanda, none of zhis has been easy for me. I know I'm not handling it vell, but I know of no ozher vay to do it. I've never been in a situation like this, be patient vith me," Kurt sat tiredly on the edge of her bed as his yellow eyes pleaded for understanding.

Her anger melted away under that look in his gaze and she hesitantly sat down beside him.

"I'm sorry. It just … hurt. You were so cold to me last night and to see you smiling at another girl today … it hurt," she whispered.

"I am sorry as vell. I did not mean to hurt you."

"Are we … do we have a chance now?" she raised her worried brown eyes to his.

"I care for you a great deal, Amanda, but I cannot answer zhat yet. I try very hard not to let betrayals embitter me as zhey did mein mozher and Vrogue, but vith you and your lying to me it is hard. I trusted you. Confided in you my fears and insecurities about being a mutant. I felt such guilt in zhinking zhat you vere a human vrisking so much to be vith me and zhinking I was not vorth it. To learn zhat you're like me, zhat you've hidden zhat from me, is a shock and at a very bad time for me to be receiving shocks," he dropped his gaze to his hands. "I can – no, I _do_ - forgive you for not yet being able to reveal yourself as a mutant in zhese sensitive times for our kind, but I cannot yet forget that you obviously did not trust me as much as I trusted you."

"I think I can accept that," she said with a slight sniffle as she reached out to touch his furry hands with one of hers. "I'll make it up to you somehow."

They smiled a bit awkwardly then chuckled as Kurt's stomach rumbled loudly.

"It is missing lunch," he joked while rubbing the noisy thing.

"Well then let's go get some before it gets cold," Amanda said as she hopped to her feet feeling quite a bit better than she had in a day.

Smiling he took one of her hands in his and teleported them from the room she was staying in at the mansion down to the foyer rather than the kitchen where they'd probably scare quite a few people by suddenly appearing.

The smile was erased from his face as his yellow eyes took in his new surroundings and found quite a surprise awaiting him.

__

"Mozher?!" he gasped in little more than a whisper as his wide yellow eyes met the almost identical gaze of Mystique.

Having heard Wanda's stunned exclamation of the female mutant's name moments before Kurt appeared, team members began pouring into the foyer to see what was happening.

Toad gulped and hopped to safety behind Fred when he arrived on the scene and saw the leader of the Brotherhood whom he'd treated with quite a bit of disrespect in stone form back in the flesh.

The members of the X-Men who knew of how that stone form had been shattered all gasped and stared at the mutant in disbelief wondering what trick their minds was playing on them.

Logan pushed through the throng to stalk furiously toward the shapeshifter as Charles wheeled toward her from another direction.

"Was I missed?" the woman asked with a smirk before making a running leap out of the Wolverine's path.


	11. You Can't Be Serious

Quick A/N: This chapter didn't turn out as humorous as I'd originally planned, but I like how it turned out for the most part. It strongly puts the question to all, Could Rogue actually fall for Apocalypse? *muahahahaha* 

Thank Yous:

Witch-Uk, doesn't sound mean at all. While Amanda and Kurt are rather adorable on the series and were actually married in the comics, I'm very much starting to lean toward Wanda as his interest in this series. It just fits better. :-)

The Scribe3, I'm a closet Bobby fan as he's done in the cartoon so he'll definitely get some lovin' in the series. I love a nice fire & ice pairing. ;-)

Glaivester, thanks so much for that neat fact. I don't know too much about the comics except what I go researching here online and I never would have known there'd been an actual hint of Kurt/Wanda in the comics. 

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**__**

You Can't Be Serious

"Logan, relax," Charles ordered as he moved himself between the furious man and Mystique. "Now is not the time for that."

"Mein Gott, vhat ist going on here?" Kurt demanded as his eyes darted from his mother to the X-Men and back again.

Wanda quickly stepped toward the confused young man to place a calming hand on his shoulder, which he didn't even notice but Amanda glared at.

"Agatha said you were dead," the Scarlet Witch said to the shapeshifter who was braced for attack about halfway up the staircase.

"The situation was a bit too complicated for her to grasp. As you all can see," Mystique straightened to stand with her arms crossed over her chest, "I am far from dead."

"How exactly is it that you aren't deceased?" Charles asked curiously.

"You want to have that conversation here?" Mystique countered.

The Professor understood her meaning instantly and almost agreed to move this to his office so they could have the discussion alone, but it was obvious that most all the mutants gathered in the foyer would follow to take part in the meeting.

"Yes, I believe we should. Everyone here has a right to know what is going on."

"Yeah, so tell us what the hell is going on?" Logan growled and took a step toward the blue skinned woman.

"You keep your distance, Wolverine," she said as her lithe body again prepared for attack.

Hank and Ororo stepped through the crowd to calm and restrain their friend even as they joined him in glaring at the female for answers.

Eyes darting around the assembled mutants Mystique was startled to see that she didn't recognize quite a few and many she did she was astonished to see with the X-Men.

"Who are all these people," she looked toward the Morlocks and Braddocks, "and what the hell are you all doing here?" the last was directed toward the Brotherhood and Acolyte members.

"That can be explained later, I do believe what you're doing here is the more important question," the Professor stated calmly. "Please, do not keep us waiting any longer."

"Where should I begin? With the fact that I was alive the whole time and I know of everything," she growled in Toad's direction, "that was done to me while I was trapped in stone?"

"I would like to know how you came to be restored to your present state."

"Mesmero took me to Apocalypse who put me back together for Rogue to restore," she said with a sigh as she prepared to answer their deluge of questions.

"Rogue? Where is she?!" Logan broke free of the others to rush up toward Mystique who wearily jumped back from him.

She leapt up onto the banister a safe distance from the charging mutant then answered, "In Mexico. Apocalypse is keeping her in a Mayan pyramid called the Castillo."

"Keeping her?" Charles, Kurt, and Logan all asked in surprise.

"What for?" Logan growled on the heels of his other question.

"I refuse to answer that until you get and _stay_ away from me," Mystique told the Wolverine firmly.

Scott stepped forward this time with Hank to pull Logan back from the shapeshifter.

Seeing that the feral mutant was restrained, the blue skinned woman glared at him before turning her attention to Xavier, the calmest of the bunch.

"Because we helped free him, even though Rogue did so without her free will, Apocalypse feels he owes us. He repaid me by restoring me to one piece and having Rogue absorb my mutation so that I could return to normal," she braced herself for their reactions to the next part. "To repay Rogue, he will be taking her as his queen to rule the new world he creates with whatever plan he's working on."

"His queen?" quite a few members of the gathering asked in disbelief.

"Skunk head queen? That's a trip, yo," Toad said with a laugh that had a few people around him laughing for a second.

The older X-Men found nothing amusing about it.

"You can't be serious," Scott said, slackening his hold on Logan.

"That's pretty much the reaction we both had, but I do not doubt the mutant's sincerity in wanting Rogue as his bride."

Before anyone could react, Logan broke free of the pair holding him back and launched himself up the stairs to knock Mystique to the ground and pin her there.

"Why Rogue?" he snarled as his claws were unleashed with wicked snikts of sound.

Slightly fearful of the wild man holding her down, the shapeshifter shook her head and looked into his eyes. What she saw there relaxed her fears of being shredded somewhat but caused her to stiffen in surprise.

"You love her," she whispered so quietly that only his sensitive ears could hear the words.

Judging by the gasps of reaction from Charles and Jean behind them, though, it was obvious that the two telepaths had detected the question and/or perhaps read the answer in Logan's mind.

"Why Rogue?" the man asked coldly, ignoring everything but the need to have that question answered.

"I don't know," Mystique finally answered with complete honesty. "He said something about her having 'purity, strength and compassion that will serve their kingdom well.'"

"That seems a bit … farfetched, Raven," the Professor said calmly as he signaled Hank and Scott to remove Logan from the shapeshifter.

"The truth sometimes is, Xavier," she replied with a relieved sigh as the weight of Wolverine was pulled from her pinned frame. "And it is the truth."

"Vhy not you?" Kurt asked with a frown as he moved away from Amanda and Wanda to draw nearer to his mother.

"Basically he feels me to be too power hungry, that I would challenge him too much as his queen."

"How did you get away from him?" Scott was curious to know.

"He let me. He restored me to this form, considered my favor returned and said I was then free to go."

"And you left without Rogue?" Logan snarled and tried to again charge the mutant only to be firmly restrained by Beast.

"It was our only option." 

"So you say, mozher," the Nightcrawler said with a bite a anger as he stood before her. "Vhy is it zhat in every situation you find yourself in zhe 'only option' is alvays zhe one zhat benefits only you? Vrogue ist your daughter and mein sizter, how could you leave her vith zhat … zhat monster?!"

"Because both of us being trapped with Apocalypse would do no good and there was no way I could get her out with him determined to make her his bride. Her only chance at getting free of him was for me to leave there and come here to get you."

"Get us for what?" Charles asked with a slight frown.

"To get her out," Mystique answered determinedly.

~*~*~

"Where'd all this come from?" Rogue asked as she was led by Apocalypse back into the main chamber where a veritable feast had been laid out.

"Mesmero is quite good at fetching what I want," the ancient mutant replied as he urged her to sit in a chair positioned on one side of the table the food was on before moving to take the seat opposite her.

"Am Ah one of those things?"

"Though I do not think of you as a _thing_, I cannot deny that I had to summon him to bring you to me."

A wave of the En Sabah Nuhr's dark hand had the mutant they discussed rushing forward to begin serving them both. 

No one spoke as the cloaked figure placed healthy portions of the delicious looking food on plates he placed in front of the dining pair. After filling their glasses with a rich red wine and bowing to his master then man faded back into the shadows.

Rogue couldn't help but shiver at how creepily Mesmero did that. He seemed to become one with the darkness and move through it soundlessly so that one never knew if he was there or not until he decided to let his presence be known.

"Shall I send him away?" asked the man across from her.

She jumped at the question and shook her head before glaring at him.

"Ah don't lahke people in mah head."

"I go there only as needed to learn that which you are still too fearful of me to reveal."

"Which is everythang. Ah don't want you in mah head. If you wanna know something ask me and if Ah don't answer then accept it," she snarled.

"My patience with you will only last so long. I suggest you not try it over such a minor detail," Apocalypse stated calmly as he began eating his meal.

Recognizing a threat when she heard one, Marie decided to follow his example and shut up to eat for the first time in almost a day.

"This is all to your liking?" he asked while watching her devour the food she had on her plate.

Chewing and swallowing quickly she nodded and reached for her glass of wine to take a drink only to pause in midair as she remembered how unused to any alcohol she was.

"D'ya have any water?"

"I have no intention of intoxicating you and taking advantage of your body, Rogue. The water here is unsuitable for drinking, leaving wine as our best option for something to drink."

"How about a soda?"

He arched a brow at her and gave her a stern look so similar to Logan's that she gasped and dropped her attention to the plate before her.

"This Logan you think of so often will not be able to assist you," En Sabah Nuhr said while placing his utensils down on the table.

"And ya needed ta pry into those thoughts because?" she snarled.

"I will not have my queen daydreaming about another love in my presence," he stated with a flare of anger.

"He ain't mah love and Ah wasn't daydreamin'," Marie countered while jumping to her feet.

"You imagine that he will rush in here, slay me like some evil dragon then swoop you up into his arms and take you to that place you call home. That is very much a daydream, my child," Apocalypse and rounded the table to glare down at her. "If you persist in having such fantasies, I will have all memories of that man erased from your mind, do I make myself clear?"

Covering her head protectively with both hands, Rogue stumbled away from the ancient mutant.

"Ya can't be serious!"

"What I am is running out of patience. You are to be growing accustomed to me and accepting of your future as my queen not wasting your energy on thinking of him. If you have such trouble concentrating on me because of this Logan then I will see to it that the obstacle is removed."

"Ah'm sorry," she whispered while continuing to shrink away from him. "It's a habit and a hard one to break after only a day. Ah'll cooperate now, just don't … don't mess 'round in mah head again."

"Very good. Now, as it appears you have finished your meal how would you like a tour of our pyramid?"

Not knowing what else to do, she nodded to give her approval of the suggestion.

He offered her his arm to escort her on this tour and after a moments hesitation she slid one of her gloved hands through it.

With a frown he looked at the leather driving glove touching his skin and turned to remove both covers from her hands.

"You will no longer need such things with me," Apocalypse said while throwing the gloves aside before returning her now bare hand to his arm.

Nervously she looked to where the items had been discarded as he began leading her from the room. She hadn't been without those gloves for so long that the sight and feel of her bare hands against his skin was mind boggling.

Then there was the stunning realization that she was actually touching someone else's bare flesh.

Her green eyes seemed unable to look away from her pale white hand laid against his darker skin. It was an intriguing sight to say the least and she found herself absentmindedly beginning to stroke his arm.

The unintentional caress drew the man to a complete halt and had his head turning so quickly to look into her face that his long black hair flew across his own.

"You innocence is showing, Rogue, and while I enjoy it I must warn you that such touches may have consequences your are not yet ready to face," he warned while stilling her hand.

Eyes widening in horror at how he must have misunderstood her actions, Marie tore her hand away from him and stumbled back toward a nearby wall.

"Ah didn't mean nothin'," she nearly shouted as terrifying images of said 'consequences' began spinning through her mind.

"Believe me, my sweet," he moved forward to press her back against that wall while stroking her cheek with a rather rough finger, "when the times comes that we join, it will be nothing like you are imagining. As my queen your body will be worshipped and you will grow to love my every touch upon it."

Suddenly his lips were pressing against hers, which had dropped open in disbelief at what he was saying, and she nearly fainted.

Her hands went instantly to his shoulders, but she was too afraid of the repercussions she may face to push him away. So she just remained pinned, trembling in fear against the wall as his mouth moved firmly over her own until finally some part of her realized she was receiving her first real kiss and softened with curiosity to enjoy it.

When he finally pulled away Marie remained leaning against the wall in shock.

__

The kiss … she moved trembling fingers to her quivering lips, _the kiss had been good._

And that fact scared her more than anything else she'd ever faced.

__

If you don't save me this time, Mystique Ah swear my first act as queen will be to have you killed, Rogue vowed silently as her eyes drifted shut and she once again fainted.


	12. Planning

A/N: Thank y'all SO much for the enthusiastic reviews! I'm rather beginning to enjoy this series a lot even though I've strayed from one original idea I had when writing it. The new direction is way better I think. :-) 

Quick Note: This chapter contains some insight into a few romantic pairings that will get more attention in the next chapter. It also has a fun moment with Apoc & Rogue followed by … Read and see. :-P

Gambitgirl, I'm so glad you like my Apocalypse. I am, yes it is deliberate, writing him as a much lighter character than he is in the comics. I mean it's the Evolution world where things are quite a big lighter so I just can't bring myself to write him as this dour intimidating big bad bully … yet. :-P For the most part though, I'm making him a rather comical presence in the series with the whole "Want you for my queen thing." 

I'm happy to announce that though I'm not quite sure how long this series will go, we're reaching the final stages leading to the big face off! *applauds giddily* That's gonna be soooo cool. 

Ok, enough ado, here's the latest installment.

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**__**

Planning

Two hours after her grand entrance into Xavier's institute, Mystique was stuck with his bunch in the lab.

The majority of those who'd gathered around to watch the show when she first arrived had opted out of taking part in this more serious meeting where those attending hoped to begin laying out some plan to rescue Rogue and perhaps stop Apocalypse in the process.

Xavier was hopeful that the girl would prove to be a weaknesses in the ancient mutant's seemingly impenetrable defenses.

Logan was of the belief that Mystique was setting them all up for a nice neat fall into Apocalypse's hands and offered only growls and impatient pacing to the meeting.

She'd been quickly introduced to all the unfamiliar faces present in the mansion.

Amanda Sefton, Beast, the Braddock twins, Caliban, Callisto, Charles, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Nate Grey, Pietro, Piotr, Scott, Storm, Wanda, Warren and the Wolverine were all gathered in the room with her, brainstorming and dissecting every tiny little detail she had told them about Apocalypse and the Castillo's interior.

Mystique had been largely ignored for the past thirty minutes, but she wasn't minding. She was actually finding this almost surreal scene entertaining.

Her estranged son appeared to have the young Miss Sefton and the temperamental Scarlet Witch vying for his attentions rather than actually trying to assist with the planning session. She was quite surprised to see Kurt spending most his time in private conversation with Wanda when he wasn't eagerly listening to the others with their suggestions on how to get Rogue back.

The Braddock twins were an interesting case. Though they'd allegedly been identical twins at birth it was now impossible to see any similarity between them except maybe their blue eyes. Brian appeared to be something of an oxy moron being very muscular and all brawn in looks, but astonishingly intelligent. He appeared even more scientifically inclined and versed than the X-Men's prized Hank McCoy. Elizabeth, 'call me Betsy', Braddock looked to be one to watch. She had an exotic beauty that obviously had Nate and Warren vying for her, but one could see in her strongly compact form a fierce warrior that was capable of killing an enemy without breaking a fingernail or sweat. 

Yellow eyes watching that girl closely, Mystique smiled and made a mental note to try recruiting Psylocke to her team if the world survived whatever was to come.

Caliban and Callisto of the Morlocks were rather interesting figures. It was clear that they were leaders of the underground mutant community that basically just survived in the sewers beneath Bayville. Caliban was a rather creepy 'all seeing' type of man, very tall and skinny with a slow dragging walk and voice that almost lulled a person into sleep listening to it. Callisto was obviously ex-military of some kind, though Mystique doubted it was simply US Army like the woman's fatigues led one to believe. Everything about that mutant said advanced training and experience in covert ops. The eye patch was curious, lending a very pirate like look to the woman. 

__

Actually, Mystique straightened and looked more closely at the other woman, _if gave her a look very similar to the mysterious Nick Fury. _ Another mental note was made to see if there was any connection between the Morlock and man in charge of SHIELD.

Aside from those few, the others present were the dreadfully boring X-Men.

Young Shadowcat got a moment of attention from the observing shapeshifter who was well aware of the flirtation between the X-Girl and Lance. Seeing Kitty practically clinging to the large frame of Colossus while listening to the group around them was a bit of a surprise.

"…And you say the tunnels had no kind of defense mechanisms?" Charles' voice finally broke through her idle thoughts.

"No. I'm relatively sure that they're left unguarded in any form because they are so very elaborate and difficult to navigate. Mesmero seemed to use them often to leave the pyramid to carry out orders given to him by Apocalypse," she replied in answer to the question.

"Do you feel confident that you can lead a team through them to get inside the Castillo?"

"Easily," she smiled confidently, "my mind is like a steel trap and it recorded every step I took out so I would be able to get back in."

"We're supposed to trust that?" Logan snarled while stalking across the room to stand right in front of her. "To trust _you_?"

"Rogue is trusting me. Why shouldn't you?"

"We've only your word on that and your word means nothing here," he growled.

"It's all you've got to go on, runt, so back off," she glared furiously at him and shoved against his shoulders.

His claws snapped out at her actions and raised to strike her, but he was stopped by Brian, Hank and Scott who all leap forward to restrain and pull him back.

"How many times must I tell you two enough?" Charles said angrily with glares to them both. "This is not a time for your petty differences to interfere with our mission. All attention should be on Apocalypse and Rogue and if you two cannot manage to focus I will keep you separated liked the children you're behaving as."

Both mutants growled slightly at the man's reprimand, but Logan retracted his claws and stalked to the other side of the room where he went back to growling and glaring skeptically at the shapeshifter.

Betsy and Nate looked from one mutant across the room to the other then exchanged laughing glances at the 'grown-ups' actions.

"Now then," the Professor assured himself that they were going to behave then brought the conversation back on track, "about this chamber you say before leaving. What importance do you think it has?"

"The chamber was just like the other rooms I was led through on my way out, but within it was something I sensed Mesmero did not want me to see."

"But you did see it?" Hank asked Mystique.

"Just enough that I'll recognize it when seen again. It had nothing that identified it to me," she answered the Beast.

As if they'd been debating something for a while now and finally come to a conclusion, Hank and the Professor looked at one another and nodded.

The big furry blue man adjusted his dark rimmed glasses on his nose and turned to the large computer to punch a few keys and pull up an image on the large screen in the room.

"Is this what you saw?" he asked.

Nodding with conviction she approached the monitor with her yellow eyes looking closely at the image of the device she had seen in Apocalypse's lair. 

"What is it?" she asked the group.

No words were spoken to answer her, but the increased yet now worried growling emanating from the Wolverine's chest and the concerned looks exchanged by Charles, Hank, Jean, Scott and Ororo spoke louder than any words.

Whatever it was it had to be bad.

~*~*~

"Have you any medical conditions I should know about that keep you doing this?"

Groaning, Rogue tried to pretend she was still unconscious and ignore the man she sensed hovering beside her.

"It will not work, I am well aware of your recovery, Rogue," she cracked an eye open to see Apocalypse actually smile down at her. "It pleases me to see that my kisses are as potent now as they were in my youth."

She bit her tongue to keep from lying that it had nothing to do with his kiss and sat up.

The sight of the ancient mutant smiling was scary than him all glowing and daunting and hovering over her in all his ancient Egyptian garb preparing to crush someone. Smiling made him seem … normal.

__

Which was bad, she told herself. _Very very bad._

__

He's not normal. He's the biggest baddest mutant ever unleashed upon the world and he'll destroy that world now that he's been freed again.

Marie could not allow herself to forget that.

Even if his kiss had left her a little tingly after she'd stopped feeling frozen with fear and before she fainted.

__

It wasn't **his kiss**, she lectured. _It was the fact Ah'd **been kissed** at all._

"That's a very human trait you have. Talking to and deluding yourself in your thoughts."

Glaring at the man for that, she otherwise ignored him to hop off the other side of the table she'd been on once again.

"Unlike the rest of you, I know your lips were not virgin before me. You have kissed others," he rounded the table she'd tried to put as a barrier between them. "You responded to my lips."

Not about to even think that might be true, she threw out a hand to stop him from coming any closer and began backing away.

"Just you stop rahght thare mister," she was quite pleased to hear that her tone was very firm as she said the words.

He did so with a rather impatient sigh, crossing his arms over his bare chest and glaring slightly as she rushed to the other side of the table away from him.

"Ah don't want any more of that," she stated, "not … not until we're married!"

"You give your permission then to our joining?" 

His lips were curled into a smile again as he uncrossed his arms and rounded the table with the apparent intention of embracing her and with a shriek, Rogue ran to away from him to the side of the table he'd just left.

"This is rather ridiculous, Rogue," Apocalypse said as he saw her all ready to make another dash around the stone slab if he approached again.

"Then stop tryin' ta touch me!"

"You must become accustomed to my caresses, Rogue. Children are not simply found in cabbage patches, they are created through the union of two bodies and our children shall be created through the joyous union of _our_ two bodies."

"If ya want me ta stop faintin' ya gotta stop talkin' lahke that!" Rogue said as his words 'joyous union of our two bodies' made the world start spinning dizzily around her. "In fact, ya mahght should just stop talkin'."

"As you wish," he leapt over the table and curled his hands over her shoulders, "I can imagine many other things to do with our lips besides talking."

"Ah changed mah mind, Ah lahke talkin'," Marie pushed against his chest and struggled to get free of his hold. "Ya've got a verah sexy voice, Ah'd love ta hear it some more."

__

Yippee, she'd made another funny, Rogue thought sarcastically as the mutant relaxed his hold on her to throw back his head and laugh as he had not too long ago at something else she'd said or done.

Grateful for his mirth, she took advantage of the distraction to get away from his hands and even further from his body.

"You are a delight with your wit, Rogue. I have not been so humored since my childhood," he stopped laughing to smile at her and extend his hand. "As you seem to be recovered, would you like to have that tour now?"

Hoping that he'd be too occupied with showing her around this creepy old place to make another pass at her, Marie nodded eagerly at the suggestion but bit her lip over accepting the hand he extended.

"If I promise to do no more than hold your hand so that you do not get lost in the darker corridors will you stop balking and take it?" asked the no longer smiling mutant before her.

Feeling much better for having been given that assurance she put her hand in his, which returned a slight smile to his lips.

What followed was a surprisingly enjoyable stroll through the musty stone temple he'd chosen for his 'home.' 

They walked through dark hallways with him protectively shielding her from any obstacles or dips in the path that may have caused her to stumble in the darkness then into partially lit rooms where he let go of her so she could explore the chambers at will. His voice rumbled through the rooms rather soothingly as he explained the purpose of the chamber or gave the details of artifacts found within it.

For the most part she just nodded at whatever he said and pretended great interest in every little speck of dust to draw out the moments she didn't have to touch him or have him feel the right to touch her.

The niceness of it all ground to a dead halt when they came to the last room.

Instantly upon entering the chamber on the lowest level of the pyramid, every tiny hair on Rogue's body stood on end and a chill ran through her body.

It was the sensation most commonly referred to as the feeling of having someone walk over your own grave.

"Whah is that here?" she asked as her wide green eyes locked on the Eye of Ages positioned in the center of the room.

"It is my greatest weapon. Did you think I would leave it in the mountains for your friends to take and destroy with experiments?" Apocalypse countered.

Ignoring him, she focused completely on the large round device that was lying open like some kind of stone flower just as she had first seen it when Mesmero's hold on her had been broken only after she had been foolish enough to open the machine and free Apocalypse. 

Of course, unlike then the ancient mutant was not all withered and aged looking in the middle of the opened orb. Thanks to her he was restored to life and youth and health and full strength and standing behind her as she stared at the Eye.

All the X-Men had learned about this machine in briefings since their failure to stop the rise of this ancient warrior.

Back when Apocalypse had been trapped in the device he had entered it with the intention of wielding its power to turn all the world into mutants.

"Only the strong would have survived it. Weaker bodies would have been destroyed by the rapid evolution of their bodies. This world would have been full of a dominant, strong and undefeatable race of mutants had I not been betrayed," En Sabah Nuhr said as he moved beside her to run a hand over one of the open panels of the machine.

"Yer plannin' to do it again, aren't you?"

His dark eyes were cold and determined as they turned to look into hers and Rogue was frozen in place by the expression. 

"Successfully this time," he stated resolutely.

Though the knowledge of what he had planned was borderline terrifying part of her felt calm at finally knowing what he was up to.

__

Now for the team to come and stop him, she thought with a silent prayer that they hurry.


	13. Romance in the Danger Room

A/N: With this chapter I commit to the pairings of Betsy/Nate, Bobby/Tabitha, Kitty/Piotr and Kurt/Wanda. :-P

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**__**

Romance in the Danger Room

"Ok, everyone, there's been a change in our agenda for today," Logan looked over the group assembled in the Danger Room with him. "This will be another survival of the fittest session. The purpose of which is to decide who among you will be on the advance teams on our next mission. That mission will be to get Rogue back. To complete it, we have to face Apocalypse again. A lot of you have not yet had contact with that mutant. Today you fight to show me you're strong enough for an introduction to him in battle."

With that, the Wolverine turned on his heel and left the room.

"This is not going to end well," Bobby said as he iced up in preparation of the simulation about to begin.

"Don't worry, babe, I got your back," Tabitha said with a wink as she brought a hand to her lips, blow into it then laughingly blew the tiny charge she'd created in the Iceman's direction.

"Is that anyway to treat your boyfriend?" Bobby asked as he dodged the charge and leapt forward to wrap his icy arms around the blonde who squealed at the cold then moaned a little as he thawed his lips to press them against hers.

"If you all are ready?" Logan's voice growled impatiently over the intercom, letting them all know he'd made it up to the observation deck.

"Um … I don't think I'm ready, yo," Toad said only half joking.

After the previous day's survival of the fittest exercise many of the mutants selected for today's session were weary of what the Wolverine had in store for them, but still most of the gathering turned to roll their eyes at the boy.

He shrugged under the weight of their stares before giving them an 'oh, _come_ **_on'_** look and saying, "Like I was the only one thinking it!"

Everyone's attention was quickly diverted from him as the Danger Room began coming to life with whatever simulation Logan was calling up from the vast database of battle scenarios stored in the computers that operated the room.

Amara, Betsy, Bobby, Brian, Callisto, Evan, Fred, Jean, John, Kitty, Kurt, Lance, Nate, Pietro, Piotr, Ray, Remy, Sam, Scaleface, Scott, Tabitha, Wanda and Warren were all instantly prepared to face whatever was about to be thrown their way.

As drones began popping out of every shifting surface in the room more than one person in the room wished they'd been tagged out of this exercise like Amanda, Caliban, Cybelle, Healer, Jamie, Lucid, Margali, Plague, Roberto and Stall.

Left with no other option they all readied their mutations and sank into fighting stances to prepare for the onslaught.

~*~*~

Wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth, Betsy calmly kicked the now disabled drone that had been foolish enough to smack into her before cartwheeling across the room to catch Nate around the waist and knock him out of the firing range of a laser gun.

They rolled twice on the hard simulated stone ground until coming to a stop with him on top.

"I had that under control," the young man said with a frown at having been 'saved' by his new girlfriend.

"I know, luv," she gave him a wink and quick kiss on those frowning lips. "Couldn't pass up the opportunity to get my hands on you."

"Stay alert!" Brian and Scott both ordered as they took out the two drones that had been preparing to tag the couple as they flirted on the ground.

Jumping to their feet like children caught playing doctor by their parents, the pair exchanged a quick smile before rushing back into the training session they'd quickly come to see as a game.

Thirty minutes in and only Warren had been tagged out.

Everyone else had paired off and was quite successfully avoiding the paint firing drones that were looking to take them out of the simulation.

Betsy watched as Bobby encased two disc throwers in ice for his partner Tabitha to litter with charges and blow up.

Her katana blade lashed out to disable the laser gun that sprang from the wall to her left and she saw Kitty phase herself and Piotr through a similar weapon. The phasing caused the machine to short out and slump useless to the floor.

Kurt, Pietro and Todd were basically going with the whole 'keep away' strategy that was working rather well for them all while Wanda's hex bolts crumpled most of the weapons they were avoiding.

Amara was all fired up and casting handfuls of molten lava at machines as Avalanche shook the ground around them to throw the drones off balance.

Evan's spikes were flying with precision into the vulnerable underside of drones, piercing and knocking out the computer systems in a few.

Ray was electrocuting drones up high while Sam slammed into ones down low.

With a grimace, Betsy saw Scaleface turn to the left when she should have gone right and become the second taken out of the exercise.

Fred, who had been smashing into weapons much like the large reptilian mutant he'd paired off with, quickly slammed his meaty fists into the paint gun that had taken her out.

Jean thrust out a hand to aim a laser gun that was firing at her up toward the ceiling while Callisto and Remy leapt forward to disable the weapon.

As the Morlock leader exchanged a satisfied smile with the Cajun a drone popped out behind her and coated her back with yellow paint while Remy did a series of backflips out of the paint's path.

Not liking how close together those two eliminations had been, Betsy raced in that direction to slice her psionic blade through the paint gun.

Looking around the room for her next target, Psylocke grimaced in sympathy as Toad hopped up on to a drone that instantly tossed him to the ground and tagged him before he'd recovered his breath to move.

Pyro quickly engulfed the weapon in flames until its internal controls were incinerated and useless.

__

~~ Falling faster now. ~~

Nate came to a stop at Betsy's back to catch a breath while sending her the telepathic statement regarding the speed with which three mutants in a row had now been taken out.

__

~~ Let's have the same be said about these bloody drones, luv. ~~

With that and a fierce smile Psylocke once against leapt forward with blades swinging and slicing through weapons in her path. 

Following closely behind Betsy wearing a 'what a woman' expression on his face, Nate used his telekinesis to mangle anything her blades missed.

~*~*~

"Zhis is not looking good," Kurt said as he and Wanda were slowly but surely being pinned down by a quartet of laser guns.

"I can take out two but you'll have to port us away before the others fire," she replied hands blazing blue as they shot out to freeze two of the approaching drones.

Nightcrawler wrapped his furry blue arms around her waist and quickly teleported them to safety.

Still holding her in his arms he turned to watch Betsy, Brian, Nate and Scott destroy the drones they'd just gotten away from.

"Zhat vas close," he sighed while turning to look at the girl he held.

She was twisted around in his arms so she could see his face and a slight smile curled her red colored lips.

"You're cute when you look all relieved like that," Wanda remarked as she raised a hand to brush back a lock of navy blue hair that had fallen over his yellow eyes.

"This is no place to be making googly eyes at each other," Remy said as his leaping from a drone's path landed him next to the pair. 

They parted to glare at Gambit who was concentrating on hurling a rapid succession of pyrokinetically charged playing cards at the drone he'd escaped. Within seconds the cards fully ignited and blew up around the base of the weapon, taking it out of commission.

Giving them a playful salute with two fingers to his forehead, the Cajun winked one red eye at Wanda then moved toward the quartet of fighters – Betsy, Brian, Nate and Scott - doing the most damage in the room.

"Show off," the Scarlet Witch muttered after the man before giving Kurt a smile then moving away from him to join Jean in her battle against a laser gun.

Feeling safe where he was, Kurt allowed his yellow eyes to search the room for anyone needing help out of a sticky situation.

They were nearly two hours into the session and ten, counting himself, remained in this.

__

Make zhat nine, he amended as Kitty failed to phase in time to avoid a blast of paint.

Colossus quickly pummeled the drone that tagged her, but the damage had been done and with a rather relieved shrug the Shadowcat left the room.

Jean and Wanda were struggling with a pair of paint guns now aimed at them and Kurt eagerly ported to get them out of the crossfire.

With a smile of gratitude at the rescue, Jean took a deep breath them raced back in to continue matching wits against the weapons.

Wanda took a moment to rest again in Kurt's arms.

"Is it normal to get dizzy from your teleporting?"

He looked down at her a little concerned at the question and frowned when he saw her head resting rather weakly against his shoulder.

"Have you been hurt?" he demanded while pulling away to run his yellow eyes over her in search of injury.

"No, I'm fine silly," she assured him as she straightened. "I just always feel a little funny when you teleport me somewhere and was wondering if it's normal."

"Not vreally. A little disorientation, ja, but actual dizziness," he placed a furry blue hand gently against her forehead, "I don't like zhe sound of zhat."

Wishing she'd not even brought it up, Wanda rolled her blue eyes at him and removed the hand.

"I'm fine," a thought occurred to her and she smiled rather wickedly. "Maybe it's not the teleporting, maybe it's just being in your arms."

To test the theory, she placed her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his.

The fur on his cheeks felt rather unusual at first, but quickly became a pleasant tickle against her skin as his surprise faded and he kissed her back.

"I warned you two about the googly eyes," Remy shouted just as the impact of paint capsules splattering open against their sides broke the kiss up.

Blushing, Wanda moved away from Kurt and wiped at the paint coating her scarlet red shirt as Brian's sword took out the drone that had tagged the couple.

With a weak smile at the others, Nightcrawler took the Scarlet Witches hand and teleported them both from the room.

"Now that is a nifty trick," Gambit said as he stared at the puff of sulfuric smoke left in Kurt's wake.

Suddenly he, Betsy, Brian, Jean, Nate, Piotr and Scott all froze as everything in the room stilled and the simulated earth environment faded back into the metal of the Danger Room.

"Excellent job, team," Logan said over the intercom. "Take a break to clean up if you wish then meet us all in the conference room."

"Does that mean we won?" Piotr asked with a bit of confusion.

"I have no idea," Jean and Scott replied.

Curious about what they were in for next and why the session was ended before they all got tagged, the remaining fighters relaxed their battle ready bodies and walked through the large steel doors that were already standing open for them.


	14. Goodbyes?

A/N: Hi all, I'm SOOOO sorry about the lack of updates before this. I've been battling major writers block all week and have written then scrapped like fifteen versions of this chapter before coming up with this. This chapter shows the emotional preparations by the X-Men for their mission against Apocalypse. It contains cryptic references to assignments and such that will be revealed in the next chapter or two. My major block in writing this week had been trying to include all the mission assignments and details in chapters before the actual mission, so I decided not to weigh everything down with those details and just start getting into it.

In that spirit, here's the next chapter.

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**__**

Goodbyes?

"I don't like it, luv," Brian said to Betsy with a frown as the two watched the others file out of the conference room. "They shouldn't have split us up."

"You're just upset that you won't be going in yourself. I'll be fine, luv, and you know it," his twin replied calmly. 

"Don't worry, Bri, I'll watch her back," Nate said as he slid an arm around her waist, which she pulled away from to glare at him for the chauvinistic male statement.

"It's more than that, Betts," Brian frowned and moved over to the conference table to look over the materials spread out on the surface. "Do you honestly believe that telepathy can bring down a force as powerful as Apocalypse appears to be?"

"Yes, I do. It works well enough to bring you to your knees," Psylocke stepped forward to place a reassuring hand on her twin's shoulder. "We will win this and we will do it as the X-Men have chosen. Caliban, Charles, Jean, Nate and myself all together … we can do this."

"Jean, the Professor, a team of the best Acolytes and X-Men tried once before and were thwarted by a clap of the hands. He just clapped his hands, luv, and knocked them all down like bowling pins."

"This time will be different, luv," Betsy said.

"If you feel that strongly, Britain, perhaps you should bow out," Nate stated at the same time. "We all have to be focused and in this 100 percent. If you can't put these doubts aside, don't come with us."

~*~*~

"Amanda, I zhink ve should talk," Kurt said quietly as he approached the girl and her mother.

Margali gave her daughter a gentle smile, glared warningly at Kurt then walked away to give them privacy.

"I know what you're going to say," Amanda pushed her long brown hair back over her shoulders. "You and Wanda weren't exactly subtle in the meeting."

"Sorry about zhat. I did not mean to do anyzhing zhat vould hurt you," he stared guiltily at the floor.

She sighed, crossed her arms over her chest and moved away from him a little.

"You did and you didn't. It still hurts that you've moved on to her, but I knew yesterday that this was how it would go. I hope she treats you right."

"Vait, zhere's more I vanted to say," Kurt put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from leaving.

"I can't hear it right now, Kurt. Mother and I must prepare for tonight. I can't afford to be distracted by your guilt or regret. I understand why you can't be with me anymore. I forgive you. If you insist, we'll talk about when all this is over, but right now I can't hear it."

~*~*~

"Yo, Wanda, what's with you and the blue rodent?" Toad demanded as most of the Brotherhood mutants formed a small huddle after the conference to discuss their assignments.

"Done of your business," Wanda snarled. 

"Maybe not his, but as your brother I think I have a right to know," Pietro said with a frown at the memory of her and the Nightcrawler all cuddly wuddly in the briefing.

"We have more important matters to discuss, brother. Like getting our revenge on what that mutant did to our father. Apocalypse, remember him? The reason we're at this place to begin with?"

"What's to discuss? We go in, we kick his ass, end of story. Now you and the Nightcrawler, that's a hot topic," Quicksilver persisted.

With a glare Wanda snarled at Fred, Todd and her brother then stalked away knowing they'd found the only topic they wanted to discuss.

"Not go vell?" Kurt asked as he suddenly appeared in front of her.

Startled, Wanda knocked him away with a hex bolt before she could even think to suppress the instinct.

"I'll take zhat as a yes," he groaned as he peeled away from the wall he'd been flung against.

"I'm so sorry," she rushed to make sure he was ok. "You've just gotta stop popping in front of me like that."

"I zhink I've finally learned zhat lesson, frauline," he smiled weakily at her concern.

"So it didn't go well with Amanda?"

"I cannot say. She seems to accept zhat I vish to be vith you now, but I sensed some bitterness in her zhat I do not like."

"You," Wanda looked at the floor then into his yellow eyes, "you really do want to be with me and not her?"

"Ja, I do," he smiled and stroked her cheek. "If you vreally dig zhis fuzzy dude."

The Scarlet Witch was stunned when an actual giggle escaped her lips at that comment and to keep another sound such as that from getting out she leaned forward and placed her mouth against his.

"I really dig the fuzzy dude," she whispered against his ear as they ended the kiss and simply hugged one another.

~*~*~

"Auntie O, relax," Evan was saying to his worried relative. "Logan and Professor X chose me for a reason. You have to trust their decision."

"I know that, Evan," Storm sighed and placed a hand on her nephews shoulder, being careful to avoid the spikes there that he could not retract. "It's just that you've only been back here for two days and now you're going into a situation that no one may come out of. It would destroy your mother and myself to lose you now."

"You're not going to, O," he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled away her worry. "I've grown up a lot since you last saw me. The Morlocks have been good to and for me. I'm going to make you proud, auntie. You and mom both."

Still not comfortable with the fact that she would not be there to protect her sister's son in the upcoming battle, Ororo could only smile weakly in return while hoping all her fears would prove irrational.

~*~*~

"Can we really succeed at this?" Callisto demanded of Caliban.

Cybelle, Healer, Lucid, Plague, Scaleface – in her human form - and Stall all waited quietly for his answer.

"Yes, we can," the man drawled slowly with a nod of his bald head. "Once the telepaths have weakened his defenses enough I will be able to infect Apocalypse and finish the job."

"And if they cannot weaken him or you are unable to get close enough to touch him?" Scaleface mentioned their possible downfalls.

Caliban turned slowly to face the young woman and looked at her warningly.

"This is not the time for such doubts. We are going on this mission tonight. None of us can allow ourselves any thoughts of failure."

~*~*~

"I don't get it, mate, if they wanted fire why'd they chose you over me?" St. John played with his Zippo lighter as he asked the question.

Remy watched the younger man flick the lighter open, light it up then conjure up an inferno with the small flame.

"Could be because I have a bit more reserve with my powers," the Cajun suggested as the flames scorched the wallpaper where they stood before Pyro put them out.

"I have reserve with my powers, yet I was not chosen for the teams," Piotr said as he and Kitty entered the conversation.

"Logan, like, totally explained the reason for that, big guy," Kitty reminded while sliding her arm around her new boyfriend's waist. "You're too big and intimidating. Apocalypse would see you and instantly go squashing us all like bugs and goodbye all hopes of a successful mission. We, like, have to go in with the weakest looking bunch so that he hopefully won't see us as a threat."

"Ahh. Well now, mate," John smiled and nudged Remy in the ribs, "that explains why you got in if they want the weak looking blokes."

Gambit rolled his red eyes at that, pulled a deck of playing cards from his trenchcoat and walked away from the gathering shuffling the cards.

"Seriously, though, I should be going in with you," Piotr gave all his attention to Kitty. "We are a good team and I do not like the idea of you not having someone who will watch your back as I would."

Pyro rolled his eyes, pocketed his lighter and walked off after Remy as the couple started getting mushy with Kitty saying how sweet Colossus was to worry about her.

~*~*~

"I can't believe we're not in this," Bobby was complaining to the other new recruits.

"Chill, Icy, you're just sulking because you're not in with the in crowd this time," Ray said. "At least the rest of us are getting close to the action for a change."

"Yeah, a definite sign the world's gonna come to an end now," Tabitha joked.

"If that is what happens, I'm glad we're all going to be together," Jamie sighed. 

Bobby, Ray, Roberto, Sam and Tabitha all gave him questioning looks.

"I'd just hate for this to be like Magneto. Something we know nothing about until we see it on the news. We're all part of this team and if they're going to go into a battle and not come back from it I wanna be able to say I did all I could to stop it. And if Apocalypse is going to destroy the world then I'd prefer to die with you guys. My friends."

The youngest X-Man's words were surprising and his friends' questioning looks turned to slight smiles. 

Those smiles faded as they looked beyond the team sentiment of the statement to the reminder that this could be among the last moments they had with all their friends together, in one place, alive and well.

~*~*~

"I just can't do it," Amara sighed and looked out her bedroom window.

"We have to, Magma," Lance came up behind her and placed his hands gently on her slightly slumped shoulders. 

"But they're my friends, Lance," tears formed in her brown eyes. "I can't … bury them."

"My friends are going in there too, Amara, and having to follow this order of Logan's is the last thing I ever wanna do, but if things go bad we have _got_ to do it."

She turned in his arms, placed her head against his strong chest and hugged him tight.

"Don't give it too much thought, though. They're not going to fail and we won't have to do it," he bent to kiss the top of her head. 

"I hope you're right," her head tipped back so their eyes met.

He gave her a tenderly reassuring smile and tapped the tip of her cute little nose with his index finger.

"Trust me, on this I will be."

~*~*~

"What's the verdict, Charles?" Logan asked as the Professor settled back behind his desk seemingly satisfied by what he'd learned.

"They're ready," the telepath said simply, having completed his scan of thoughts and emotions in the mansion. "Even more prepared for this than I would have thought."

Wolverine nodded at the assurance then stalked from the office to go help Hank prepare the Blackbird and Velocity for flight.

Left alone Charles looked slowly around his office, his gaze lingering over a series of photographs hanging on the wall. 

__

The X-Men.

His dream.

A team of gifted youngsters who were willing to use their powers for good to find peace on this earth with humans and fellow mutants alike.

There was an early photo of Jean, Logan, Ororo, Scott and himself taken shortly after this strange almost family had begun growing.

Next was a picture of the senior team members – Evan, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Rogue and Scott – fresh from a challenging Danger Room session.

The new recruits – Amara, Bobby, Jamie, Jubilee, Ray, Rhane, Roberto, Sam and Tabitha – were all piled playfully upon Hank in their group photo.

Finally there was the most recent and complete photograph. The whole team, minus Jubilee and Rhane, in uniform standing grouped together before the rebuilt mansion after the 'mutant menace' period had eased off.

Already, thanks to Apocalypse, hatred of all things mutant was on the rise again. 

Charles understood their fears. He even shared their concerns that En Sabah Nuhr would unleash a great horror upon this world given the chance.

Still, it was discouraging to see and know that a majority of the world he and his team were willing to sacrifice their lives for tonight would continue to see them all as monsters tomorrow.

But he would gladly face their animosity just as long as his team had a tomorrow after tonight.

~*~*~

Jean curled closer to Scott's side as they laid wrapped in each other's arms on her bed. 

It had been two hours since the mission briefing and they had spent every second of that time together like this. 

Fully dressed in their uniforms, just holding on to each other.

Now the time was approaching when they would have to board the Velocity and fly to Mexico to carry out their rescue of Rogue and hopefully the defeat of Apocalypse.

Reading the digits on the alarm clock next to her bed, Scott sighed and pulled Jean tighter to him while kissing the top of her head.

"I love you, you know," she whispered quietly against his shoulder before shifting to look through his visor into his eyes. "I know I wasted a lot of time admitting it, but I've always loved you."

"This isn't the time for it, Jeannie. We're not saying our goodbyes. We will get through this as we have everything else," he pressed a tender kiss firmly against her lips. "Tomorrow we'll say all our I love yous and back the words up with actions."

Her green eyes misted with emotion and she quickly closed her lashes to hide the forming tears.

"I just wish - "

He laid a silencing finger across her lips halting the wish she would have spoken.

"No wishes tonight. We are going to go on this mission and complete it. Tomorrow you can tell me all your dreams and wishes and I'll spend the rest of our lives making them come true."

"Promise?" her eyes fluttered open and looked into his once more through the protection of his ruby red visor.

"I promise. We're X-Men, Jean, and we're ready for this. Apocalypse may have knocked us down once, but we all got back up again and this time we take him down."

Just as he finished the last of his statement the Professor began to call them all to the hangars to prepare for takeoff.

With one last tight hug and passionate kiss, the couple left the bed with their minds and bodies focusing only on the battle they would walk into.

Scott's last words echoed in both their heads, making their backs straighter with conviction and determination as they made their way to the lower levels.

__

"This time we take him down."


	15. Choose

A/N: Okies all this is the last chapter before the climactic confrontation, which I'm afraid to note may take another few days to get uploaded 'cause I wanna get it just so. This is my first try at action/adventure and as the story gets more into that genre I find myself thinking a bit too much over everything I write and whether it's too this or too that. Just a warning in that area, the following chapter once posted will be rather sci-fi/fantasy.

Thank Yous:

Leigh, glad you like the series so far and hope it continues to entertain. :-) Thank you for the review.

Gambitgirl, glad you like the "Ropoc" interaction and it will get a bit different in this chapter. ;-)

ManniElf18, as Agatha said Rogue's touch to Mystique's statue would prove enough to unlock Mystique's powers to free herself. Apocalypse simply put all the pieces back together so Rogue could absorb the mutation and do as Agatha said she was capable. Also, sorry 'bout the slip up on Kurt's toe count and all will be revealed about the future of the Apocalypse/Rogue possible relationship in this chapter. 

Glaivester, I kind of like "Ropoc" as an abbreviation for the Rogue/Apocalypse pairing. Not that anyone would ever actually pair them … would they? :-P

Ok, gonna end my rambling on that and on with this chappie!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

Choose

"What is that thing doin' here?" Rogue asked as she walked into the main chamber for dinner.

Apocalypse remained seated at the table Mesmero was escorting her to and cast a glance toward the Eye of Ages, which now stood center stage in this room.

"Now that you are aware of its presence there is no longer a need to keep it hidden below. It will also be needed tonight," the man said calmly.

"Needed for what?" her face was puzzled as she sat down and allowed Mesmero to fill her plate with food and her glass with wine.

"Your friends are planning a visit."

While she sat doubting her hearing En Sabah Nuhr began eating his meal.

"What?" the room echoed with her near shriek.

"Your mother has done just as she promised she would. She ran straight to the X-Men and rallied the troops for you," he put down his utensils and leaned back in his chair while looking into her eyes. "They should be here within the hour, so I suggest you eat now while you can."

His words were so cryptic that any appetite she may have had fled.

"'While Ah can?'"

"Eat," he ordered rather harshly and startled she obeyed.

Nervously she began cutting up the chicken on her plate and shoving it into her mouth then going to work on the vegetables and rice served on the side.

After a seemingly endless period of nothing heard in the room except the sounds of their eating, Apocalypse pushed his empty plate away sat back in his chair to stare at her intently.

"You have no desire to be my queen, do you?"

Having no idea how to respond without angering him, she just shoved a forkful of chicken down her throat and nearly choked on it.

"My kisses and touch have not repulsed you," he continued as she coughed over the bite of food and gulped some wine to wash it down. "In fact, I believe you're rather intrigued by them, but it means nothing to you beyond the idle curiosity you've always had about touch."

Swallowing slowly she began to freeze like a deer caught in headlights while wondering where all this was leading.

"I've come to a rather difficult conclusion, my dear," his dark eyes met hers across the table and the look in them terrified her. "You will never willingly become my queen. The offer of standing at my side to lead a wonderful new world in which all mutants can live freely has no appeal to you. Therefore I have had to come up with a different scenario for us.

"As you know the last time I used this," he rose, rounded the table and pulled her to her feet toward the Eye of Ages, "I was betrayed by my followers and locked within the device. Mesmero is far more loyal to me than they ever were, but still he has a healthy fear of my powers and the possible repercussions of my using the machine. I cannot afford to trust him completely and you have given me another option in my plans. I can transfer my powers to you to carry out my evolution of the Earth.

"I leave it you to decide whether you wish to be my queen or you would prefer to power up the Eye of Ages."

~*~*~

Fear raced through Logan's body as he sat tensed and ready for battle on the Velocity which was making it's way through the night toward Mexico. 

He stifled a feral growl as he realized that it was not his fear. 

Once again, somehow he was picking up on Marie's thoughts or feelings and something had just scared her about to death. Not knowing how this apparent bond between them had formed and not really caring he snarled at Hank to fly this damn thing faster.

All around him the other members of the advance team were turning to look at him a little worriedly for the outburst that had broken up the complete silence of the ride thus far.

When he ignored their stares they all shrugged a bit and returned to their own serious contemplation of what was to come.

Betsy, Caliban, Charles, Cybelle, Evan, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Mystique, Nate, Pietro, Plague, Remy, Scott, Stall and Wanda were all as prepared as they were ever going to be to breach Apocalypse's fortress and attempt to get their teammate back.

Just ahead of the X-helicopter flew the Blackbird at record breaking speeds with Callisto and Ororo at the controls. 

Crowded into the X-Jet were all the others who would be standing guard outside the pyramid to try and take Apocalypse out if the advance teams failed. Amanda, Amara, Bobby, Brian, Fred, Healer, Jamie, John, Lance, Lucid, Margali, Piotr, Ray, Roberto, Sam, Scaleface, Tabitha, Todd and Warren were all crowded into the jet. None of them were thinking back on their conversations before leaving on this mission. They were all trying to stay sharp for the potential battle ahead even as they hoped that the advance teams would succeed and that they would not be needed.

~*~*~

"What happened to yer owin' me one?" Rogue asked as her wide green eyes remained locked on the machine before her.

"I offer you a life as my queen and fellow ruler of this world. If you accept that, then my debt to you is repaid and we live in our new paradise together. If you refuse it, then my debt is also repaid since you do not wish to accept the only payment I am willing to offer," Apocalypse said coldly.

"That's a bit childish don't ya think? Eithah Ah say yes and do it yer way or be killed?"

"You are correct in assuming that it will kill you. Your absorption of my powers will only last long enough to use the machine once and once my invulnerability has drained from you there will be nothing left. It is not my wish to see that happen though."

"Then why even suggest it?!" she demanded shrilly.

"As I have already stated, I cannot completely trust Mesmero not to betray me as did my followers before when they trapped me in the device," he said calmly. "If you agree to be my queen I will trust you to see that I am not betrayed. If you refuse then I am left with using you to power the device as my only option."

"How tha hell is _that_ your only option?! 'Cause personally Ah see a few othahs lahke lettin' me go or … here's a far out idea … maybe not even tryin' this whole 'evolutionize' tha world thang?!"

"I was one of this world's first mutants. Those humans that accepted me in my time were slaughtered as I would have been by those who feared my differences. For 5,000 years I have been entombed upon one of the highest mountain tops in all the world and do you know what all has changed in that time? The fashions people wear and the weapons with which humans kill one another. Our kind is still not accepted by 'humans' even though we are one and the same. It is time to erase the differences between us. Once my evolution is complete all survivors will be mutants and there will no longer be a need for the battles I have been fighting since my birth," he stepped toward her and tipped her head back to look into her eyes. "Simply say the word and there will be no need for you to feel alone and outcast ever again. We will forever be among our brethren and never again have to hide our true selves from the world. As my queen you will be honored, revered and cherished by all the mutants we will have liberated."

"And if Ah can't say that word, Ah die so yer little delusion can play out?"

"It is not a delusion, girl, it shall be reality. The choice is entirely up to you whether you live to share in that reality or are sacrificed to make it so."

"What kahnd of choice is it?" she turned on him furiously to demand. "Ah nevah wanted any of this. Ah nevah wanted to be a mutant then Ah wanted nothin' to do with Mystique then Ah nevah woulda helped yer damn Mesmero get yer sorry ass outta this box ta begin with and now if Ah don't wanna commit ta be yer freakin' queen Ah die?! Where tha hell do you see me havin' a choice in this?!"

Anger overwhelming her, Marie balled up her fist and struck the ancient mutant's iron jaw.

Apocalypse's head did not move so much as a fraction of an inch at the feeble blow, but his expression turned deadly serious as he looked down at her.

Her body seemed frozen in place, turned slightly away from him due to the momentum of the swing she'd taken. Horrified at her action and the reaction she saw brewing within him, it took all her strength not to faint.

"Your decision is made then," he raised his body to hover above the ground then went to don his headpiece and cover his flowing black hair. "Just in time for your friends to watch you die."

~*~*~

Callisto remained at the controls of the Blackbird as did Hank in the Velocity. They stayed in place there as the teams exited the crafts so that they would be able to take off quickly if and/or when needed.

Outside, on the ground, everyone stood staring at the Mayan pyramid before them in a great deal of shock.

"I thought is was supposed to be glowing, mates?" Pyro broke the silence to comment.

Charles and Mystique exchanged rather concerned glances at the lack of the force field that had surrounded the monument while Logan stood growling with impatience as the fear he felt from Rogue grew even stronger.

"This changes nothing except that it looks like we get to go in the front," the Wolverine turned to say to his advance teams. "All plans are go."

"Logan - " the Professor frowned.

"Witches," Logan ignored the other man to snap at the Sefton's, "start your spell."

Without hesitation Margali led her daughter to a nice patch of flat ground near the pyramid and the two began unpacking the small bag they had brought with them. In minutes, the pair sat chanting in a circle they had created with some kind of powder.

Assuming they were doing what they needed to to provide the advance team with whatever protection from Apocalypse as their sorcery could, the Wolverine stalked over to Amara and Lance.

"You two remember your roles?"

Though still unwilling to actually think of having to carry out the orders they had been given the couple nods at the man who growls approvingly then returns to his team.

"Places everyone," he snarls loudly and the team members assigned to stand guard outside the pyramid pushed down their unease to encircle the base of the monument.

"Logan - " Charles again tried to get his friend's attention.

Once again Logan ignored the other man and turned toward the entrance he saw standing open as if in invitation to them.

Sighing aside his misgivings about the ease with which they were being allowed to make their entrance, Xavier followed the Wolverine when he growled to them all, "We're going in."

Still as ready to do this as they ever were going to be, Betsy, Caliban, Cybelle, Evan, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Mystique, Nate, Pietro, Plague, Remy, Scott, Stall and Wanda followed the two men into the pyramid.


	16. Standoff

A/N: Sorry for the delay in uploading this installment. Writers block gets me at the worst times. Just so you know, this chapter may be a little weird or 'unbelievable' which is why I qualify it as sci-fi. Overall I'm thrilled with the emotion and power I put in Rogue and things kinda pretty much go along the lines of what I was originally intending for this scene back when I started the series, but as always things didn't go exactly as planned. 

Thanks to Elizabeth Braddock-Grey for the title suggestion for this chapter. I was drawing a total blank.

Now let's have you see the results and don't be bashful about reviewing as you see fit. Constructive critisms would be appreciated so I know whether or not to try a story along these lines again. :-) 

As always, THANK YOU to all readers and reviewers thus far and in future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

Standoff

Rogue shrank back against the Eye of Ages in horror as Apocalypse began approaching her with his hands outstretched to touch.

A very familiar growl of rage echoed through the chamber and broke through the fear she felt.

__

Logan!

Her head snapped around until her green eyes locked on the furious figure standing at the top of the staircase with a team of X-Men preparing to charge down into the room. 

The ancient mutant approaching her stopped in his tracks and turned to follow her gaze when a smile touched her trembling lips.

Apocalypse's dark eyes narrowed as Kurt teleported the Professor down into the chamber while the remaining team members calmly walked down the staircase.

In something akin to shock, Marie pushed herself to stand upright on her feet as she watched Evan, Gambit, Jean, Kitty, Logan, Mystique, Pietro, Scott, Wanda and many unknown people come to a stop at the foot of the stairs and brace themselves for attack.

"We just want the girl, bub, let her go and we might not hurt ya," Logan snarled with his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

With an arched brow, En Sabah Nuhr turned to look at Rogue before again facing the waiting X-Men. 

He then threw back his head and laughed at the Wolverine's words.

His laughter echoed eerily around the room, causing the team to tense and prepared to launch their offensive.

Logan unleashed his claws and crouched to leap toward Apocalypse. Evan began focusing on the direction he wanted his spikes to fly. Scott's hand moved to his visor to turn it to it's most deadly setting and his hand remained poised over the controls to begin firing. Wanda's hands began glowing with their blue energy and her lip curled upward in a snarl as she gazed angrily at the mutant that had killed her father. Jean and the Professor both focused on En Sabah Nuhr with their hands going to their foreheads in concentration. Gambit was closely watching the ancient mutant's reactions while shuffling a deck of cards in his hands. An unknown man with dark hair that had a streak of white in the front levitated up off the floor as his left eye began glowing yellow. Next to him an unknown purple haired woman calmly used her right hand to draw a sword from its sheath on her back as her left hand began glowing purple. Mystique morphed into Sabertooth and let loose a furious roar before crouching like Logan to leap at the mutant.

That roar stopped Apocalypse's laughter and also gave the team their cue to begin.

Wanda thrust her glowing hands toward the ancient mutant, sending a hex bolt forward to envelop him and limit his powers while Evan's spikes shot out at the mutant and Scott fired his optic blasts.

With a sweeping motion around the room, En Sabah Nuhr sent them all flying backward.

They all somersaulted head over feet away from the mutant. 

The Professor was flung from his wheelchair. Gambit, Kurt, an unknown dark skinned woman, a little girl, and a sickly looking female were all slammed into stone walls and appeared to be knocked out cold. Mystique, Scott, Wanda, the man with the glowing eye and the woman fist all flipped to land on their feet while most everyone else landed hard on their backs and skidded along the floor a few inches.

Another wave of his hand sent those on their feet crashing into the walls.

Confident they would be unable to interfere now, Apocalypse turned his attention back to Rogue who gulped at the resolute expression on his tattooed face.

~*~*~

__

~~ Do not attack again! ~~

Head all around the room whipped in Charles' direction as he practically screamed the telepathic command to the team members while attempting to get himself back in his wheelchair.

__

~~ We have to, bub, he's going to - ~~

~~ I know what he's going to do, Logan, and I tried to warn you before we entered. Now we must wait for him to weaken then allow me to do what must be done. ~~

~*~*~

"Don't do this," Marie pleaded as Apocalypse again began approaching her.

"You've made your choice and left me with no other option," the man said coldly as she found herself pinned between the Eye of Ages and En Sabah Nuhr's hovering body. "We would have made a powerful team."

Those words were immediately followed by him placing his bare hands on her cheeks. 

For a moment, there was no reaction from her skin except for the nervous trembling that went through her entire body at what she feared was to come.

Then she felt herself being lifted off the ground to levitate upward seconds before he seemed to flip the switch and send his lifeforce pouring into her.

Her eyes opened wide and locked on Apocalypse's dark stare as her lips parted on a scream she was too immobilized to release.

Images, emotions and raw incredible power from him were flooding her system and she didn't know if she could take it.

It was too intense.

She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think or feel on her own.

Everything about her now was him.

He was taking her over and she could do nothing but stare at him through horrified eyes that were beginning to shed silent tears of defeat.

__

She was going to die before he even put her in the device.

~*~*~

Betsy, Nate and Scott were struggling to obey the Professor's order to hold a furious Wolverine back from attacking Apocalypse.

__

~~ Calm yourself, luv, this is not helping anything! ~~

Betsy tried to ignore the scene playing out behind her and settle the man down so he didn't do anything rash that would endanger them all.

__

~~ He's killing her! ~~

Logan tore free of their physical holds and made to leap toward the pair hovering about three feet above the floor.

Left without any option, Nate yanked the mutant back with his telekinesis and pinned him to the wall.

__

~~ Trust the Professor, dammit. None of us will let her die! ~~

Seeing that the X-Man had Wolverine under as much control as anyone could, Charles focused all his attention back on trying to contact Rogue.

Her mind was a furious mess of swirling memories and emotions and her presence in the chaos was fading rapidly under the influx of Apocalypse's powers.

Finally his searching mind found her personality clinging with all its might to some part of her subconscious. 

__

~~ Rogue, can you hear me? ~~

Instantly he recoiled in the wheelchair Jean had returned him to as his only response was tortured screams roaring from her mind into his.

Fighting to block out that sound he strained further to try and reach the girl.

__

~~ Rogue! I know you can hear me. Focus on my voice! ~~

Sobs intermingled with the screams in his head as he continued repeating that order over and over again until he began to lose faith that she was hearing him.

Then finally a timid _~~ Professor? ~~ _echoes from her mind to his.

Frantically, he searches her subconscious until he finds an image of Rogue. When he does, it is of a weak and fearful girl curled in the fetal position sobbing like the lost child she was in the current chaos of her mind.

__

~~ Yes, Rogue, it is me. ~~

Having no time to waste, he sends her feelings of safety and protection through their mental link then focuses on giving her the strength to do what he knew she must.

__

~~ Listen to me, Rogue, and listen carefully. You can beat this. You **can** beat Apocalypse. He is giving you his power. TAKE it. Do **not** allow it to be forced upon you. **Take** **it** into you and use it as your own. ~~

~*~*~

__

~~ Take it. ~~

The words kept swirling through Marie's mind and somehow they gave her the strength to fight her way to the through the madness she had felt herself drowning in.

Her eyes which had drifted shut snapped open to focus once more on Apocalypse.

He seemed surprised, but unconcerned by her return to reality until she began glaring at him.

Before he had time to react, her bare hands smacked against his bare chest and the ancient mutant jerked as she began pulling more of his powers from him than he had intended to give.

Now he was the one immobilized in their deadly embrace and as she continued to angrily drain his lifeforce from him, his muscled body began to shrivel up as it had when he was locked in the Eye of Ages.

~*~*~

"NOW!"

Charles' shout echoed loudly in the room and all the mutants reacted to it.

While Jean and Nate focused their telekinesis on getting Rogue away from Apocalypse Betsy and the Professor began firing their psychic blasts at the weakened mutant.

Logan leapt forward to catch Rogue as she was finally peeled away from En Sabah Nuhr. He along with all the others fell to his knees clutching his head before reaching her though, as Mesmero finally attempted to breach the mental shields they all had.

Rogue's body hit the floor hard after the three foot drop from where it had been hovering, but she quickly sprang to her feet and turned on the X-Men.

__

~~ Find Mesmero! ~~

Shaking off the effects of the attempted mind control, the team got back to their feet and tried to obey Charles' telepathic command, only to be flung back by Rogue.

__

~~ Find Mesmero and take him out. She's under his control! ~~

Wanda braced herself back against the wall and shot her hex bolts forward to envelop the X-Girl and temporarily freeze her, but Rogue with Apocalypse's powers was too strong to be help long. 

After only a few seconds, the hex was broken and the Scarlet Witch was sent reeling to the left by a wave of Rogue's hand.

The delay was enough for a recovered Stall to see the cloaked figure of Mesmero lurking in the shadows and she tugged on Kurt's tail to get him to teleport her over to the mindbender.

Mesmero quickly zapped the Nightcrawler with his staff when the blue X-Man appeared in front of him, but the mutant paid little attention to Stall who removed a glove and placed her bare hand on his leg.

Apocalypse, who was far from finished yet, thrust out a hand but was too late to stop the child from paralyzing his slave and freeing Rogue from Mesmero's hold.

Instantly, the ancient mutant turned to throw Rogue back against the wall, but she only tumbled back a few feet before snarling angrily and shoving both hands toward En Sabah Nuhr to slam him into the ceiling. Rocks all around the room shook and shifted ominously at the impact, but she paid them no mind and she jumped to her feet and waved her hands to send Apocalypse crashing through the floor of the chamber.

The team stood watching as the ancient warrior quickly rose back up through the hole he'd made to angrily face their fellow X-Men.

Rogue didn't show an ounce of fear as the mutant's hovering body made it's way toward her, in fact, she began morphing into his exact image and levitated herself up to face him eye to eye.

Both furious at this whole turn of events the now equally powerful mutants threw out their hands and each tried to send the other one flying into some part of the pyramid, but neither of them moved an inch under the force of the other's concussive blasts.

Getting back on the tentative game plan they'd had going in to this, Jean and Nate levitated to hover on either side of the actual Apocalypse while Betsy and Charles moved closer to the mutant.

As one the four telepaths gathered all their strength and focused their psychic energies on destroying the man's mind.

Shouting with anger as the mental blasts began working, Apocalypse's powers weakened to allow Rogue to thrust him back against a wall.

Scott's optic blasts and Wanda's hex bolts worked with the telepaths to keep the mutant pinned there while Caliban and Plague rushed forward to try using their mutations to weaken Apocalypse's body.

All at once Jean, Nate, Scott and Wanda cease their actions and with a wave of Rogue's hand the ancient mutant tumbles hard to the floor where the Morlocks quickly place their hands upon him. Caliban infecting him with a psychoactive virus that would hopefully degrade Apocalypse's physical and mental conditions, Plague infecting him with the most vile and deadly diseases known to mankind amplified by his mutant power into even deadlier viruses.

Apocalypse recovered enough to fling both mutants away from him after they'd barely had a chance to touch him and the telepaths quickly went to work again trying to take him out with psychic blasts.

"Get him into the Eye," Rogue suddenly shouted as she watched them work.

Without hesitation the two telekinetics strained to lift the mutant and move his struggling form over to the Eye of Ages.

Concentrated blasts from Betsy and Charles kept Apocalypse from breaking free but they were both wearing out from the extreme energy needed to accomplish it. 

Jean cried out and dropped to her knees on the ground and Nate tiredly lowered himself to the ground when the two finally had En Sabah Nuhr placed in the device.

The ancient mutant immediately lunged upward to try freeing himself but a flick of Rogue's wrist laid him flat out in the machine, which she quickly lowered herself to the ground to close.

"Evan, lock it down." 

She stepped back from the Eye and watched as Spyke instinctively responded to her command by letting a series of spikes fly and pierce the surface of the machine just enough to hopefully keep it from opening too easily in the future.

"Scott, blast the roof."

"Rogue - " Logan and the Professor began.

"Now Cyclops!"

Not knowing what else to do with this Rogue, Scott put his hand to his visor and obeyed.

~*~*~

Gasping in horror the team outside the pyramid stepped quickly back from the monument as the top was suddenly blown off.

Various exclamations of shock sounded from the stunned mutants who stood helplessly watching the debris crash down to the ground.

The Seftons ceased their chanting and leapt to their feet to back away as the others tensed a little fearfully in preparation for battle.

Beside Amara, Lance's body had gone stiff and the ground around them began to shake as he prepared to carry out Logan's orders.

"No, Lance, we don't know that they've lost yet!" she grabbed his arm and shook him to stop the small earthquake.

Just as the ground grew still something shot out of the top of the pyramid.

They all watched the item curiously as it flew through the sky toward the stars only to again react with shock when the glowing form of Apocalypse soon rose to hover above the monument.

With a sound of rage tearing through his body, Lance assumed those inside to have been defeated and his eyes rolled back in his head as he called upon all his powers then slammed his foot forcefully into the ground.

Amara was still too stunned by the appearance of the ancient mutant to react to the way the earth was rapidly quaking upon as the tremors from Avalanche's actions raced toward the base of the pyramid.


	17. Falling Down

Warning: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CHARACTER DEATH! I will not say which character, but I don't think they'll be missed by many. 

This chapter may also be overly dramatic in areas. It also has a romantic moment or two that may not appeal to all readers (Nothing explicit or anything like that, it just might not be a pairing you like or you may think it doesn't fit the flow of the story.) Again, elements of sci-fi/fantasy in this chapter.

Now I do a happy dance because I'm nearly done writing this series! *does a few quick checks of current plans for story* I think I've got two or three more installments let to deal with the 'fallout' from this chapter and touch on a few other things. Hooray!

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**__**

Falling Down

With the help of the telekinetics, Rogue was able to propel the Eye of Ages through the opening Scott created and she followed the device in which Apocalypse was again entombed to fling it toward outer space.

Focused entirely on using the powers she'd absorbed from the ancient mutant, she failed to notice any activity below her as her morphed body rose higher and higher above the pyramid toward the Heavens hands outstretched to push the Eye even further.

The higher she went in the atmosphere the more strain it put on her borrowed invulnerability and slowly she began morphing back into her true form as the powers started to weaken.

~*~*~

"Lance, stop!" Amara grabbed Avalanche's arm tightly as what she was seeing finally sank in. "It's ROGUE!"

He was too involved in trying to soften the ground around the pyramid so that the stone monument would begin sinking beneath the earth's surface to understand what she was saying. 

Breathing deeply to calm herself she turned away from the young man, became Magma and used her powers to try to stop the earthquakes he was creating.

Brian, Ororo and Warren took to the sky as all around them team members were fighting to stay upright on the shaking ground.

In growing confusion and panic they watched the pyramid shaking before them then saw Rogue finally push the Eye of Ages from sight then hover above them in the sky while looking down at something.

The trio watched as the girl seemed to tense painfully then go limp and begin falling toward the pyramid.

~*~*~

Across the distance separating them Logan's worried brown eyes looked with Marie's surprisingly serene green ones.

__

Ah love you.

Horrified that she would think such a thing now, he told himself that it was just his imagination and she hadn't thought it and he especially hadn't heard her think it.

Then the shaking of the room around him ceased to matter as her eyes slid shut and he watched her go limp before her seemingly unconscious body began falling from its high position in the sky.

Unable to believe his eyes that remained focused on her in the sky, yet unwilling to take any chances he snarled at Kurt, "Go get her!"

"I can't. She's too high up and zhe momentum vould kill us both," Kurt said sadly as his yellow eyes were also locked on the falling girl.

Growling Logan looked at the tired telekinetics present.

"Can you slow her down?"

Without hesitation, Jean and Nate both focused their powers on slowing the girl's decent from the sky as Betsy used her telekinesis to cover Rogue with a protective force screen to hopefully prevent any injuries upon unavoidable impact with the ground.

"This place is coming down, we have to get out," Scott said as a section of wall behind them crumbled and feel in on the floor.

Intently watching those focused on helping Rogue, Charles sensed the pyramid falling apart.

"Mystique get them out," he ordered.

Casting a quick glance up toward her falling daughter, the shapeshifter in her natural form called to all unnecessary mutants and led them quickly up the stairs.

Cybelle, Kitty and Kurt refused to leave, though, in case they were needed.

~*~*~

Exhausted from the strain of creating then trying to stop his earthquakes as well as the dawning horror that he may just have killed his friends, Lance collapsed to his knees on the ground and watched as the shaking pyramid began to fall in on itself.

Brian, Ororo, and Piotr were all rushing toward unstable monument with every intention of racing inside to get their loved ones out.

Before they reached the entrance, team members began pouring out of it.

Pietro passed them by in a blur then stopped a safe distance away to place Plague and Stall, whom he'd carried out, on their feet. He then rushed to the trio to stop them from going inside as Caliban, Evan, Mystique, Remy, Scott and Wanda all stumbled out.

Ororo quickly moved to embrace her nephew, who instantly began urging her away from the collapsing pyramid.

"Where is my sister?!" Brian demanded of the exiting team.

"She's still inside helping the others," Scott replied as he tried to get everyone clear of the stone falling from the shaking pyramid.

Ignoring Cyclops' shouts, Brian charged into the crumbling monument intent on getting his twin out.

~*~*~

Though it seemed to be taking an eternity everyone still remaining inside knew the seconds were passing rapidly as with a cry of pain and exhaustion Jean collapsed unconscious to the ground, unable to focus any longer on slowing Rogue's decent.

Lacking any backup in that department, a weary Nate shifted his focus to join Betsy in trying to protect the girl from death when she hit the ground.

Charles, Cybelle, Kitty, Kurt and Logan remained grouped together and intently watching their teammate as she came ever closer to crashing through the open top of the pyramid.

Not thinking or caring about the illogic of his actions, Logan ordered the others back and braced himself to have her body slam into his when it came down.

"Logan - " Charles shouted warningly. 

It was too late, though, to stop anything as Rogue fell through the hole created by Scott's optic blast then quickly slammed into Logan's waiting body, the force of the impact sending them both through the floor which had been weakened by Apocalypse's crashing through it just moments ago.

That collapse seemed to set off a whole series of cave-ins and before any of them knew it, the entire floor had fallen from beneath them and the walls were all coming down.

~*~*~

Brian raced awkwardly through the shaking, crumbling corridors of the pyramid toward where he felt Betsy would be and stumbled to a stop at the top of the stairs leading down into the main chamber just in time to watch her fall along with the others through the floor.

Without hesitation he flew down in to the chaos.

Dust and lack of any illumination in the room blinded him and made it impossible to see where his twin had fallen.

Invulnerable as he was, the heavy stones raining down from the collapsing pyramid over his body were easily ignored, until a large section of wall slammed into his back and threw him into the darkness, pinning him to some floor.

~*~*~

Darkness was all that could be seen when the shaking and falling stopped.

Betsy moved cautiously where she was and was please to find herself free of any debris lying on top of her.

Slowly, with aching muscles protesting she pushed herself into a sitting position and scanned the room.

"Brian?!" she gasped aloud as she sensed her twin's presence in the rubble along with Charles, Cybelle, Kitty, Kurt, Nate and the faint signs of Jean, Logan and Rogue.

She heard stones being pushed aside at the same moment her brother spoke into her thoughts. 

__

~~ Yes, I'm here, Betts. ~~

~~ We need light. ~~

Nate's statement echoed in her mind as she dealt with her surprise at Brian's being there, then she thought to ask her always prepared twin if he had any kind of light.

Within seconds the beam of a flashlight was cutting through the darkness to touch on the unconscious bodies of Charles, Jean, Logan and Rogue as well as the groaning and slowly stirring Cybelle, Kitty and Kurt. It appeared they had all fallen into a small room located beneath the main chamber.

Elizabeth winced when the light was shone in her direction and her pupils dilated sharply at the sudden glare.

"Watch where you aim that, luv," she moaned before moving to take the flashlight from him.

Crawling carefully over shifting debris, she made it to Logan who laid awkwardly and unmoving under Rogue's equally still body. Though Jean and the Professor were showing no signs of regaining consciousness yet, these two were the ones Psylocke was really worried about as the impact from the fall could very well have fatally wounded them both.

Her fingers trembled just a bit with reaction to all that had happened in such rapid succession and she placed them first against Logan's neck then the other girl's. A curse of 'bloody hell' escaped her elegant lips as she found their pulses weak and unsteady, which matched what she was able to sense of them telepathically.

"We have to get out of here," she whispered mostly to herself and swung around in the darkness to face her brother.

She gasped as the moving beam of the light she held touched on a bit of deep purple material. 

Eyes wide, she moved focused the light in that direction and moved toward it. 

Pushing aside a few obstructing stones, she uncovered the body of Mesmero who laid among the rubble with his eyes frozen open from Stall's paralyzing touch. Disturbed greatly by the expression on his tattooed and blood covered face, she felt for a pulse, sensed no mental activity in the still man and tried to determine if the gash on his temple was enough to have killed the mutant.

"Betts?" both Brian and Nate asked curiously.

"It's Mesmero," she shifted to the side and shone the light upon the mindbender's face for the two men to see. "I think he's dead."

"Ugh. Could you, like, close his eyes or something?" Kitty asked as she looked at the sight then quickly averted her gaze back into the darkness.

"Ve need to get out of here," Kurt said as he too looked at then away from the villain.

"Logan and Rogue need to be moved first," Betsy managed to get Mesmero's dark eyes closed as she told the group this. "Can you port them out?"

She turned away from her grim task to see the Nightcrawler moving cautiously toward his friends.

"As zhey are injured I can only take zhem vone at a time."

"Do it. Get them topside, tell the others what's happened, get us some more lights then come back."

Gladly allowing the British woman to take control of this whole situation, the other conscious team members watched as Kurt carefully shifted Rogue's limp body into his arms then vanished leaving them all waving away the smell of his sulfuric vapors.

~*~*~

Callisto gasped and turned sharply in the pilot's seat of the Blackbird as Kurt suddenly appeared behind her in the cockpit.

"Ve have injured," the blue boy informed her before urging the Morlock to follow him into the cargo area where Rogue was laid out on a medical table that folded down from the X-Jet's back walls.

"Bring me Healer," she ordered while moving toward the injured girl and checking her over with the limited medical knowledge she had.

The Nightcrawler was gone and back with her fellow Morlock within seconds and Callisto moved back into the cockpit to radio Hank on the Velocity while the Healer went to work.

"Beast," she said into the jet's communicator, "you're going to be needed here."

"I'm on my way."

~*~*~

"Kitty, can you phase us out?"

"The one's that can walk, I could try, but I don't know if it'd be a good idea. I think we're, like, underground now and any error in judgement on my part could get us trapped in the ground," Betsy was told by a sighing Shadowcat.

"Give me the light, luv," Brian demanded and with a slight frown Elizabeth did as asked.

The group watched as Captain Britain directed the beam up above them to try and see what was left of the pyramid.

"Can't see the sky, so something's stuck up there," he returned the flashlight to her with a sigh. "Can't try moving it without causing it to fall down on us.

Kurt's sudden reappearance in their midst startled them all, but the boy said nothing to them as he grabbed on to Logan's shoulder and teleported back out with the injured Wolverine.

"I could try and get rid of some of these walls," Cybelle suggested with a wave of her gloved hands. "Melting them away won't weaken the structure and we could see if there's any way out on the other side."

Nodding, Betsy tossed the light to Kitty to shine wherever the Morlock needed then turned her attention to the still unconscious Charles and Jean.

The Professor's mind remained strong and his pulse was steady when checked, but Jean's mental status was erratic like her pulse.

When Kurt teleported back with more flashlights for them, Elizabeth instructed him to get the red haired girl out next.

~*~*~

Scott pushed his way through the gathering crowd of team members who had left their positions at the pyramid to stand outside the Blackbird where they had heard injured teammates were being brought by Nightcrawler. Once inside the jet he knelt next to Jean as she laid on the floor of the cargo bay. 

Logan and Rogue occupied the only two 'beds' the craft had been furnished with and Hank and Healer were both focused entirely on those patients.

"Jeannie?" Cyclops whispered as his fingers brushed the hair back from her face and came away bloodied from a cut on her forehead.

His girlfriend didn't respond to him in any way and his blood stained fingers curled into a fist as he bent to kiss her cheek.

"You're going to be fine, baby," he whispered to her before gulping back his emotions and shoving himself to his feet in 'leader' mode. "Who's hurt?"

Kurt hesitated before teleporting away to answer, "Just zhe Profezzer yet. Zhe ozhers are avake and appear to be ok. Mesmero is dead."

After somberly giving that update, the Nightcrawler once again vanished from the Blackbird only to reappear moments later to lay an unconscious Charles down next to Jean.

~*~*~

"Looks like we can get out through here," Kitty was glad to report as Cybelle's acidic hands opened a hole in one wall to reveal a tunnel that slanted up toward what they assumed was ground level.

"I can take more out zhis time," Kurt startled them all by saying as no one had noticed his return.

"You've got to be wearing out," Betsy said worriedly as the strain of all he'd been doing showed on his furry face.

"It vill only take two more trips. I can do it and it is more reliable zhan valking through zhe unknown zhere," his yellow eyes were determined as he looked from Psylocke to the tunnel that had no visible exit.

"How many can you take at once?"

"It is best not to try more zhan three," he replied.

"Brian, Cybelle, and Kitty," she named the trio to be taken and ignored her twin's frown.

With a nod of acceptance Nightcrawler had Kitty hug him while he grabbed on to Brian with one gloved hand and Cybelle with the other before teleporting the quartet from the rubble.

Betsy turned her attention toward the body of Mesmero.

"Should we take him with us?" she asked Nate who slid a comforting arm around her waist.

"We'll get him out of here then leave him for the authorities. No one else on the team needs to see that," the couple looked away from the dead villain and hugged.

Kurt returned and finally they were all free of the ruins that had been the Castillo.


	18. Tired

Thank You's etc:

Carla-p, great to see you reading this story! *gives two cookies and milk for spotting the movie moment* This chapter will contain an adaptation of another X1 moment. Let's see if you spot it. ;-)

Roguechere, lol and I'm glad the mention of death wasn't glaringly obvious. I wanted to make sure readers knew it was there, but not focus on it. :-) Glad you like the series! Also, I totally didn't realize the double use of Lance and I've fixed it and uploaded this corrected version. Thank you VERY much for pointing that out for me. :-D

Winter Fire, thank you as always for the supportive remarks. :-) I just couldn't write the team not winning. The comics were just too weird during the Age of Apoc so I couldn't allow him to remain unleashed in my Evo mind.

Glaivester, LOL. 

Jo, thank you very much for the standing O. :-D

Leigh, Caliente, Pocketprnces, FaDiNgSiLvErStAr, Thanks very much for the reviews and though they're being slow in getting written this and the next chapter will draw the series to a close. :-) Hopefully the conclusion will be uploaded tomorrow (Tues 10/7) or the day after at the latest.

Special thanks to Elizabeth Braddock-Grey for once again helping me through writer's block to get some writing done! *lollies galore for you* You know the ones. ;-)

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**__**

Tired

Exhaustion.

Everyone was feeling it as the Blackbird and Velocity landed safely back at the institute.

Their mission had been a success, but no one who stumbled from the crowded crafts was in a mood to celebrate.

That could very well have been because of the somber task they had to perform of moving unconscious teammates from the X-Jet to the infirmary.

Tiredly the older members of this unlikely army trudged through the mansion's lower levels to get stretchers to carry the injured into the infirmary.

Charles was showing signs of recovery after Healer's work on him, but like the other three the Professor's mind was exhausted and needed more rest yet. Hank and Ororo maneuvered their mentor onto the first stretcher and carried him to a private room to monitor his progress.

Scott gently moved Jean's stabilized body onto the next litter, and with Ray's help, moved his girlfriend into the room next to where the Professor would be staying until he awoke.

Kurt, who had passed out and remained unconscious from over exerting himself getting everyone out of the rubble, was taken to the infirmary by Remy and Sam.

Lance and a rather worried looking Mystique transported Rogue to the largest room in the school's medical center where she and Logan would be watched closely by Healer. Brian and Piotr carried the stretcher weighed down with the Wolverine's limp adamantuim filled body.

The others all followed them toward the infirmary, making it all seem like some kind of funeral procession.

Once the unconscious members were settled on to their beds, Healer turned his attention to the walking wounded who had yet to be treated after escaping the pyramid.

Caliban, Cybelle, and Kitty required only a moments touch to start their body on quickly healing the bleeding cuts and scrapes they had gotten from falling stones.

Betsy required a bit more concentration from the Morlock for the wrist she hadn't even felt to be broken and the deep gashes she had on her face and shoulder.

Most everyone was in awe of Nate who had made no mention or complaint about the ribs he had had cracked or the large lump on the back of his head from slamming into the stone floor they had landed on when the main chamber fell in. The young man refused the offer of a bed in the infirmary and swore Healer's touch already had him well on the way to recovery.

Assured repeatedly that their teammates would be ok, the new recruits reluctantly left the crowd to stumble tiredly toward their bedrooms above. The Morlocks, with the exception of Healer, Remy and Warren followed the youngsters to get some much needed sleep in the rooms they'd been given at the mansion.

Fred, John, Lance, Pietro and Todd were all eager to return to the boarding house, but Wanda refused to leave. 

Pietro's arguments to get his twin to return with him and the others were overruled by Betsy's offer to share her room at the institute with her new friend the Scarlet Witch.

Once her sibling was gone, though, Wanda thanked Betsy for her thoughtfulness then moved quietly into Kurt's room in the infirmary and prepared to spend the night there in one of the nicely padded armchairs against the wall there.

Amanda quietly observed those actions with sad brown eyes before giving her ex-boyfriend one last concerned glance then urging her mother to return them both to their own home.

In Jean's room Scott was preparing to begin his bedside vigil, while Ororo settled in with the Professor and Mystique remained watchful and alert near Rogue's bed.

Hank and Healer moved with quiet confidence around all the patients, giving the remaining observers faith that all would be ok for the night. 

With tired sighs, Betsy, Brian, Evan, Kitty, Nate, and Piotr all climbed into the elevator and rode in the silent lift to the floors their rooms were located on then slowly made their way to bed.

~*~*~

Determined to discover what was making that incessant beeping noise Charles turned his head to the side and opened his dark eyes slowly to focus on the heart monitor beside him.

Frowning as he realized he was in the infirmary, he turned his head to see Ororo asleep in a chair next to the bed he laid upon.

As if sensing his return to consciousness, the weather Goddess jerked awake and jumped to her feet to stand over him.

"Welcome back," she said with a gentle smile as she took his hand in her own.

"How long was I out?"

She consulted the elegant gold watch on her wrist and replied, "Six hours now."

With a blink of surprise, he maneuvered the bed he laid upon up until he was sitting upright then asked the question now niggling at the back of his mind.

"How did we do?"

"Apocalypse is gone and Rogue is back here with us," Storm replied rather evasively.

He gave her a stern look as he sensed there was something she wasn't wanting to tell him and with a sigh the weather Goddess moved from his line of sight so that his dark eyes could see through the clear wall that made up the entrance to the room.

There was no verbal reaction from him when he saw into the room across the hall where Scott had fallen asleep with his head on a pale and unconscious Jean's hip as she laid on a bed similar to the one Charles was on.

"Who else?" he demanded wearily after a moment.

~*~*~

Groaning slightly, Wanda came to the conclusion that Kurt snored louder than Fred – who often disturbed the whole boarding house with his wheezing at night – and that she was not going to get any sleep in this room.

"How is he," Mystique suddenly asked from the doorway as Wanda again shifted to try and get comfortable.

Startled by the genuine concern in the question, it took a moment for her to form an answer.

"He's good," she smiled gently in Kurt's direction. "As you can tell by the snores, he's sleeping now so I'd say there's no damage done. I'd be willing to bet that he'll be up demanding breakfast in a few hours."

"You genuinely care for him?" asked his absentee mother upon seeing the fondness on the girl's face.

"It's hard not to once you get to know him at all," the girl replied before rising to face the shapeshifter rather challengingly. "Do you?"

"You're not one I'm very willing to discuss that with considering the role your father played in my current situation with my son," Mystique said coldly.

Remembering what Kurt had confided in her about the memories Rogue had absorbed from this woman, Wanda dropped her gaze to the floor and wrapped her arms around her waist.

They were both quiet for an awkward moment that was broken by a yawn escaping the girl's red lips.

"Go up to bed, I'll watch him now," Mystique said quietly at the sign of tiredness.

"I thought you were staying with Rogue?"

"She won't be waking up anytime soon and I can't stand watching them work on her," the woman waved a blue hand toward Hank and Healer who were walking past the door of Kurt's room discussing something that appeared to be serious.

"They are going to be ok, though, aren't they?" the Scarlet Witch asked with a frown at the woman's tone.

~*~*~

"I have done all I can for their bodies," Healer said with a resigned and tired sigh as he removed his hands from Logan's arm and stepped away from his patient toward Hank.

With a grave nod at the Morlock's statement, Beast moved to adjust Rogue's saline drip while making not of her pulse and blood pressure before turning to do the same with Logan.

Acknowledging that there was no more he could do either, Hank moved away from his friends and teammates to stand next to Healer.

"You might as well get some sleep," he said to the visibly exhausted Morlock.

Too tired to argue, Healer left the room with a slight rustle of his blue cloak.

Left alone in the room with his unconscious, but stable, patients Hank removed his black rimmed glasses and rubbed the grit from his eyes before leaving the room to visit with Charles.

Slightly impatient at not getting a meeting with the institute's unofficial doctor the second her awoke the Professor demanded an update on everyone the second the big blue man entered his room.

Lowering his large frame into the chair Ororo had been dozing in at one time, the man again removed his glasses and rubbed at his tired eyes.

"Jean and Kurt are showing signs of returning to consciousness, they're simply still in need of a bit more rest. Healer and I have no reason to believe that they will not awaken fully restored by morning, though, Jean will have quite the headache for a day or so," he sighed wearily and slid his glasses back on. "Logan's regenerative abilities combined with the boost Healer gave his mutation have made great progress in healing the internal injuries he received from Rogue's body impacting with his and then the fall through the floor. Even with his powers I wouldn't be surprised if it takes him a day or two to awaken. Rogue's physical condition was surprisingly good from the remnants of Apocalypse's invulnerability and the protective shield's Betsy and Nate used on her. It's her mental condition that worries me. After all she went through with Sabah Nuhr, she's showing definite signs of slipping into a coma."

"I need to see her," Charles made to move from the bed even though his spare wheelchair had not been brought down to the infirmary.

"Charles, you're in no condition to help her right now," Ororo gently urged him to lay back down.

"Absolutely not," Hank rose to add his restraint to the older man. "Your reserves have been depleted by tonight's fight. You need much more rest before I can even consider allowing you to probe Rogue's mind."

"The longer she goes without some connection to reality the harder it will be to get her back, Hank," the Professor argued while ignoring the tiredness he felt that validated their arguments.

"Tomorrow will be soon enough," Beast and Storm both assured him firmly.

As he reluctantly settled back and gave in once more to the exhaustion wearing him down, the pair observing him exchanged worried looks and hoped that they were right in their statement.

~*~*~

In Jean's room across the hall a sleeping Scott failed to notice the movement of the hand he held as her eyelids fluttered open then tiredly drifted shut again.

A very watchful Mystique took Kurt's sudden mumbling in about a dream he appeared to be having as a good thing.

The machines attached to Logan and Rogue in their room beeped steadily and continued to monitor the lack of any change in their status.


	19. Waking Up

A/N: I've decided I need to write the ending out in two chapters mostly because as I wrote this one I got caught up in writing some of the scenes. This chapter may seem a tad weird at the end, but I'll bring it back together. :-) Next and hopefully last chapter should be ready tomorrow.

Thank Yous: 

Scrawler & Witch-Uk, thank you both and you'll both find a bit more Kurt/Mystique/Wanda interaction in this and the final chapter. :-) 

Fantasy Cat, thank you much and yep I'm almost finished. :-D

IceBlueRose, I was a TOTAL Buffy fan (mostly due to a huge crush on Spike) and in honor of my favorite vamp I did refer to Apocalypse as 'the big bad' as Spike often saw himself. ;-) I always love readers who are open minded enough to check out fics with pairings outside the norm, :-P, as I suppose ya could say Rogan is. Thank ya and glad you're liking the series.

Roguechere, hehe. Thank ya very much especially for not catching my typos and such 'cause I'm the first to admit that they get in to all my fics. Luckily they're rarely glaringly obvious and one can overlook them as you're still able to understand the gist of what was being written. :-D

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**__**

Waking Up

Kurt's nose twitched as a wonderful aroma filled his senses.

A breakfast burger gutbomb.

His yellow eyes flew open to see a grinning Wanda waving the calorie laden treat under his nose.

"Kitty told me you were addicted to these things," the girl said as she straightened and teasingly moved the food away from him.

Instantly he sat up and snatched the sandwich from her and took a large bite out of it, which he almost choked on when he heard a laugh in the room and saw that it came from Mystique.

Gladly accepting the juice his girlfriend thrust into his three fingered hand, the boy took a gulp of the liquid to wash down the food then blinked a few times.

"Vhy are you still here?" he asked his mother suspiciously after a moment.

Sadness creeped into her yellow eyes before she turned them away from him for a moment to compose herself.

"Regardless of the impression I've made upon you in the past, Kurt, I can't leave until I know you and Rogue both are ok," the woman said quietly.

Sensing a need for privacy between the pair, Wanda smiled at Kurt and whispered in his ear, "Listen to what she has to say," then left the room in search of Betsy.

His mind still focused on the mention of the girl he thought of as a sister, Kurt placed the his sandwich back in it's wrapper and gave the shapeshifter his full attention.

"How is she?" 

"Stable. Her body is fine and Xavier is preparing to go to work on making sure the same can be said about her mind."

He fidgeted a bit then folded his hands together in his lap and stared at them.

"You did a good thing yesterday," he said quietly. "You made her a promise and kept it. I thank you for doing vhat you did to help my friend. All my friends."

"I owed her that and more," his mother said with equal quiet as she moved a chair next to his bed and sat down. "I'm not going to try and excuse or explain the way I am. It's just the way that I am. I do have some good qualities though and thankfully I can see that you inherited them. I'm not sure how much time we'll have together before I wear out my welcome here," she cautiously placed her blue skinned hand on his furry blue arm, "so I just want you to know that I'm proud of who you are. Your foster parents did a better job raising you than I ever could have. I always knew they would and that's the only reason I ever left you with them. I'll always regret that I'm such a villain in your life, but I think we both would regret more if I had raised you to hate humans as I have come to. You're a kind, gentle and forgiving soul and I don't want you to ever let my bitterness destroy that."

The tear that slid down her cheek was so similar to the one he had seen her shed just days ago in statue form that his eyes widened as he watched it fall.

"You _did_ hear us zhat day in mein room, didn't you? It vas a vreal tear not just condensation like Mr. McCoy said?"

"Yes, it was. Crying is something I despise doing, but even I do do it."

For a moment they simply looked at each other then he reached up to squeeze the hand on his arm. After exchanging a smile that turned into awkward laughs when his stomach rumbled and Kurt eagerly unwrapped his sandwich to scarf down with returned hunger.

~*~*~

"Good morning," Scott smiled tenderly into Jean's just opened eyes before softly kissing her pink lips. 

She shifted slightly in the hospital bed she laid upon then groaned and placed a hand against her throbbing forehead.

"Head hurts," she said, though it came out as a croak from her dry mouth.

Prepared for this her boyfriend moved to fill a big glass full of water and hand it to her along with some aspirin for her headache.

"You got hit by some debris so the head's gonna hurt for a day or so," he told her.

"The others?" she asked anxiously once she'd drunk enough water.

"Everyone's gonna be fine. Logan and Rogue are the only ones still unconscious and no one else was really injured," he fibbed a bit so as not to get her worried about the injured who'd already recovered.

"What's wrong with them?"

"From what the others have told us, Logan put himself in Rogue's path so she'd hit him instead of the floor as she fell from the sky. The momentum slammed them both through the floor, which was already weak and it dropped out under all of you. His injuries all resulted from the impact with her and then the floor, but Hank and Healer assure us his body his healing rapidly and he should awaken in a day or so. Rogue wasn't injured much by the fall thanks to shields protecting her from Betsy and Nate, but the way she absorbed Apocalypse and most everything to do with that fight with him has proven a great strain on her mentally. The Professor is about to begin probing the damage."

"Take me there," Jean ordered while sliding from the bed then leaning weakly against it in the flimsy green hospital gown she'd been dressed in the night before.

~*~*~

Charles positioned his wheelchair to left of Rogue's pale unconscious body near the head of her hospital bed and checked her heart monitor before beginning his journey into her mind.

Outside in the hallway Bobby, Evan, Hank, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Mystique, Ororo, Scott and Wanda step closer to the clear surface that kept them out of the room their friends were in. Amara, Betsy, Brian, Jamie, Nate, Piotr, Ray, Remy, Roberto, Sam, Tabitha, and Warren were watching things with interest as well, but stayed back to let the senior team members get the best view. The Morlocks were absent from the gathering after having left the mansion to return to the sewers below Bayville with the extreme thanks of all the X-Men.

Ignoring their attention on him he took a deep breath and raised his hands to hover a mere fraction of an inch above Rogue's bare forehead as he focused on her.

His dark eyes closed and his brow furrowed in deep concentration as he made his way into the girl's mind.

Surprise flickered through him at the lack of chaos he found. Always before when he probed her subconscious it was a stressful journey for them both. She was almost always struggling with those she'd absorbed and the inner issues her mutation had created.

This time it was clear and he found himself wandering through a peaceful white haze.

Without knowing it he frowned at that discovery, causing the team members watching his every action so closely to tense apprehensively outside the room.

Quickly he worked past his surprise to search for a sign of Rogue in the mists.

Just as he was about to call out to her, the mist parted and she came striding toward him wearing her purple shirt and black pants but no gloves.

__

~~ Ah know, Ah know. Ah'm supposed ta be all weak and slippin' inta a coma. ~~

The image of her smiled wryly before shrugging a bit and continuing.

__

~~ Surprise. ~~

~~ What's going on here, Rogue? ~~

~~ Nothin' ta worry about. Ya've taught me well and Ah've got it undah control. ~~

~~ Got what under control? ~~

With another slight smile she waved a hand and cleared away the mists to reveal a variety of personalities, including her own, standing there as if frozen in place.

__

~~ Ah know how ta control them now. ~~

~~ How? ~~

Another wave of her hand and her subconscious image of Apocalypse opened his dark eyes, raised his head then strode over to her.

__

~~ He's shown me. ~~

~~ Rogue, you can't trust - ~~

~~ He was lahke me Prof. His skin absorbed othah's too and he learned ta control it so that he only absorbed what he needed ta keep his othah powers strong. When Ah absorbed him, Ah absorbed that. Now Ah'm just cleanin' up in here before Ah wake up and prove all this to ya. ~~

~~ This is highly unusual. ~~

She waved En Sabah Nuhr back into his unmoving state with the other personalities while laughing at Charles' words.

__

~~ And that suhprises ya? Nothin' about our lives makes us models of normalcy. ~~

Studying her carefully rather than answer, Xavier come to quite a few realizations.

The most obvious one was that she was in no danger of being overwhelmed by Apocalypse's presence in her mind.

Next came the confidence, relief and serenity that surrounded her. No matter what the reality proved to be, in her mind she believed she had learned from the ancient mutant a way to control her mutation and the knowledge had given her a new lease on life.

Finally he came to the conclusion that there was nothing that he could do at this time for her.

__

~~ I really am fine, Professor X. I just need a little more time in here before I wake up and explain everything I've learned. ~~

Surprised again, this time by the complete absence of her accent, Charles was slow to digest her words.

__

~~ You're being very vague, Rogue. What have you learned? ~~

With a resigned sigh she turned and walked back into the returning haze.

"Ah knew Ah shoulda just kept mah mouth shut and just startled tha hell outta y'all by doin' this."

It took a few minutes and the loud arrival of Hank, Kurt and Mystique for Charles to realize that she'd said those last words aloud.

In shock he allowed himself to be pushed aside by McCoy, who was eager to check on his startlingly awake patient.

"Don't ya dare shahne that thing in mah eyes again," Rogue was saying with a glare at the penlight Beast had removed from his shirt pocket. 

"Vrogue, are you ok?" Kurt demanded as he moved to her other side.

"Ah'm fahne," she smiled reassuringly at him and then just smiled at the obvious relief her words brought to his expression and the way he reached out a gloved hand to take hold of her bare one.

"How is it that you're awake?" Hank asked disbelievingly.

"It was that or argue 'round and 'round in circles with tha Prof. in mah head," Rogue answered before noticing how Mystique stood quietly at the foot of the bed as the rest of the stunned team began piling into the room.

"Thank you," she said to the woman with a grateful smile for all her adoptive mother had done the past few days before turning to face the Professor and begin her explanations.

Upon seeing Logan laying so still just behind the other man the girl forgot what she'd planned to saw. Focused on the Wolverine, she carefully removed her IV before Hank could even think to stop her then slid from her bed and wrapped the sheet covering her around her body before stumbling over to his side.

"Could somebody get me some actual clothes?" she asked as the sheet slipped to reveal how the hospital gown gaped in the back.

Stunned by her actions, no one moved or responded to her question until with a sigh she turned and growled that she was fine and would like to get dressed.

With a shrug Kurt quickly teleported from the room then returned a few minutes later with a change of clothes for her.

Thank him gently, the girl shuffled into the bathroom to get dressed.

"Can somevone tell me vhat zhe heck is going on here?"

"I have no idea," Charles said while rubbing at his temples.


	20. The Fallout

A/N: Yes! This is the FINAL Chapter! I'm a sucker for happy endings so prepare for a few dramatic and romantic touches as I complete one for this series. :-)

As always, thank you all very much for your reviews and I am extremely pleased that you have liked the story. 

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**__**

The Fallout

Ignoring the gloves Kurt had brought her, Rogue finished dressing and reluctantly padded out of the bathroom in her sock covered feet to 'face the music.'

Even though she knew it would spawn more questions to answer, she grabbed a chair and placed it next to Logan's bed so she could sit with him while talking to the others.

The entire team was jammed into the room with the overflow packed into the open doorway so they wouldn't miss out on a moment of this.

With a sigh, she wrapped one bare hand around Logan's then looked at the Professor.

"Where would ya like me ta begin?"

"I think we'd all like to know how it is you're awake. Up until you awoke so suddenly, we believed your condition to be quite grave," Charles said while moving closer.

"That's not somethin' even Ah really know how ta explain," her green eyes searched the gathering for the two unfamiliar faces that had saved her. "What are your names?"

"Betsy Braddock," answered the purple haired woman who separated herself a bit from the crowd.

"Nate Grey," said the young man with hair quite similar to Rogue's with the white streak.

"You two saved mah lahfe. Thank you, Betsy and Nate," she said with a smile before refocusing on what she was saying to the Professor. "Aftah getting' rid of Apocalypse things went kinda hazy in mah head and Ah just started fallin'. Ah still had, still have really, his powahs in me and Ah was invulnerable ta tha fall, but their help was an added bonus," again she smiled toward Betsy and Nate. 

"You _still_ have him inside you?" Charles frowned.

"Yes. Ah believe ya saw him in mah mind. Aftah all Ah absorbed, what he forced on ma and then what Ah took, Ah think he's here ta stay with me."

"Exactly how much did you absorb of Apocalypse?"

"A nice dose of his mutations and a not so pleasant abundance of memories. Ah know what his lahfe was lahke with the bandits who took him in and Baal who raised him as his own son. Ah know how he powahless he felt when Pharaoh Rama-Tut had Baal and his army slaughtahed tryin' ta kill En Sabah Nuhr. Ah know that until that moment he lived in peace with humans and only grew ta hate them aftah that battle. Ah know that unlike tha Pharaoh, Apocalypse wanted to use tha Eye ta bring peace rathah than rule tha world. Ah know how he laid dormant for all those years cursin' those who had betrayed him and sealed him in the Eye before Mesmero became curious about the myths of the 'most powerful mutant evah known' and became Nuhr's willing slave," she took a deep breath and found Wanda in the gathering. "Ah know that he didn't kill yer fathah."

"What?!" the Scarlet Witch pushed forward to exclaim. "The whole world saw him die, how dare you lie about something like that with me here!"

"Vanda," Kurt placed a restraining hand on the now angry girl's shoulder. "Let us hear her out. She vould not lie about somezhing like zhis."

"Y'all only saw him vanish. Apocalypse has teleporting abilities far greatah than even yours," she smiled at the blue boy holding Wanda back. "His powahs are interdimentional. He has tha ability ta travel through time and space with his teleportation as well as usin' it to send othahs through that same tahme and space. He didn't kill Magneto. To do that with a mere flick of his wrist is slightly beyond even Apocalypse's powahs. Knowin' yer fathah would nevah allow him to use tha Eye or carry out any of his plans, Sabah Nuhr used his powahs to send Magneto to a parallel dimension where he is alive and undoubtedly furious."

For a long moment the room was silent as they all absorbed this information then the estranged daughter of the lost villain gulped back her confused emotions at the news and began demanding more answers.

"How do you know all this and how do we get him back?"

"Ah know it because Apocalypse knew it and Ah absorbed it. He can be gotten back quite easily using the device tha Professah and all used to get from Egypt to Tibet when they tried to stop tha final door from openin'," she turned to Charles. "It should still be in one piece at the pyramid's remains in Mexico. Y'all can go get it at any time and Ah can take ya to him."

"What of Apocalypse?" Hank asked with a slight frown. 

"He's gone. He ain't dead, though, hopefully tha Morlock's magic will work ta change that. Rahght now … he's just gone. Floatin' up thare in outtah space," she gave a little shrug with her vague answer.

"Is there a chance he could return?" Ororo demanded.

"Alwahys a chance, but it's slim ta none. He'll crash inta some othah planet long before he gets back ta Earth. Should he get lucky and surprise us all there's no way he could recovah from all that has happened and pose a threat ta us evah again. All his resources were depleted bah the physical and mental blows he sustained and bein' trapped in tha Eye again will weaken him even furthah. If necessary, he could be killed quite easily."

As most even was focusing on all she'd said thus far Jean moved away from Scott, who'd been supporting her still weak body since she got out of bed, and stared closely at Rogue.

"Rogue," she began with her eyes continuing to notice something the others had apparently missed, "you're touching Logan."

Instantly all eyes were on her bare hand as it laid upon Logan's equally bare forearm.

She ducked her head self consciously under the weight of their disbelieving stares, but didn't release her hold on him.

"Ah told ya Ah had it undah control," she told the Professor.

"I believe it's time we begin discussing this privately," Charles said before turning to have Hank clear out the room.

Kurt left only after reassuring himself once again that Rogue was ok, but Mystique refused to budge so she and the Professor remained in the room to talk to the girl.

~*~*~

"I have to get to Pietro," Wanda said suddenly as Betsy and Kurt walked with her away from the infirmary.

Betsy nodded at her slightly dazed friend's statement and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"If you need to talk about this, I'm here."

The younger girl nodded absently at the offer.

"Vould you like me to take you or have somevone drive you over?" Kurt asked regarding her desire to return to the Brotherhood house.

In answer, she slid her arms around his waist and sighed, "You."

"And I thought facing Apocalypse would be the weirdest part," Nate moved to Betsy's side as the couple teleported away.

Her twin wasn't far behind and when he arrived on the scene he introduced a new topic.

"When we heading home, luv?"

"I'm feeling at home here. Aren't you?" Psylocke said to her sibling.

"We've got obligations in England, Betts. Our stay here was never meant to be permanent unless we failed."

"I hate to point this out to you, luv, but only you have obligations back home. I've been trying to break away from S.T.R.I.K.E. ever since they began trying to use me. Something tells me they won't kick up too big a fuss if we stay here with the X-Men," Elizabeth said much to Nate's delight.

"You're right that I have obligations, Elizabeth. I'm not going to turn my back on them and you go where I go," Brian huffed.

Sensing a fight brewing, Nate smartly made himself scarce after verifying that his girlfriend did indeed have every intention of remaining with the X-Men as he had decided to do.

~*~*~

"Do you vant me to go in vith you?" Kurt asked as he and Wanda stood staring at the boarding house's front door.

"Yes, but best not to," she smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "Pietro would flip at me bringing you in and most likely ignore all I have to say about our father."

He moved to stroke her cheek before kissing it.

"Vhenever you're vready, just give me a call and I'll be here for you," he whispered.

Misty eyed at how wonderful this guy was compared to the outright jerks she'd known most her entire life, Wanda hugged him tightly then lightly kissed his lips.

"Thank you," she gave him two more quick kisses before pulling away and dabbing at her eyes to stop any emotional tears from falling. "Go take care of that sister of yours and I'll talk to you later."

After giving her a heartwarming smile, he vanished from her sight and with a sigh she turned to open the door.

Only to have it whipped open by her sibling who stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, a foot tapping rapidly on the floor and a slight glare on his face.

"You're dating that rodent, aren't you?" he demanded.

"He's not a rodent, Pietro," she snarled at the insult and took on a defensive stance. "He's something you wouldn't know anything about – a gentleman – and yes, I think we're dating now."

While he gaped at her, she refocused on the bigger issue at hand and pushed past him into the house.

"Father's alive," she came right out and said it.

"What?!" in a flash he was standing in front of her.

"Rogue's awake and she absorbed enough of Apocalypse to know that he didn't kill Magneto. He sent him to some parallel dimension to make sure father wouldn't mess with his big plan."

"And …? What am I supposed to say to that? Whether he's dead or in some 'parallel dimension'," her brother scoffed at that phrase, "like those goody goodies say, he's still gone."

"They can get him back and I believe that they will."

"Why would they bother? He's their enemy. Ours to after all he's done to screw up our lives."

"He's still our father and he doesn't deserve to be trapped wherever he is. As for why the X-Men would get him, it's how they are. They're fair and help us just as much as themselves. Plus the Professor was Magneto's friend and no matter what father has done, he'd never refuse to help him in a situation like this."

Pietro looked at her suspiciously then placed his hands on her shoulders with some concern.

"You're not thinking of joining them are you? I know there's not much to keep you here compared to all they can offer with their fancy mansion and I've not been the best brother to you, but we're good now and I don't want to be separated again."

"Neither do I and I haven't thought for a second of becoming one of those hoity toity X-Girls," she smirked. "I may have feelings for Kurt and think they really are good guys, but I'm a long way from being one of the good guys myself."

Relieved, Quicksilver rather awkwardly hugged his twin.

"When Magneto comes back," she returned the hug then pulled back to look into his eyes, "are you going to be on his side again?"

"Not this time, sis. I'm done being used by him."

~*~*~

"Do we really want Erik back here?" Mystique asked Xavier as they were chased from the infirmary by a Rogue tired of answering their questions for the day.

"It has nothing to do with wanting it, Raven, it's simply the right thing to do."

"One of these days, Xavier, you and your team will do the right thing and not come out the winners. You've all been extremely lucky up until now - "

"Luck has very little to do with it, Mystique," the Professor came to a stop and stared at her sternly. "We earn every win we have gotten. Every time my team goes out, even if it's to face your Brotherhood, all of them and myself prepare for the possibility that we may lose and in that defeat suffer fatalities. They have all been trained to do everything within their powers to prevent the loss of their teammates even if it means surrendering the battle. You have seen them all in action. You have been defeated by them on numerous occasions. They are ready, willing and able to face any situation and do the right thing in it whether that leads to victory or defeat. Soon I hope the world will see that and give them, if nothing else, the freedom to live as normal a life as they can without being hunted for their differences."

"Ever the optimist," the shapeshifter laughed. "This world will always shun our kind. Even if the hate dies down to a point where mutants and their families are not faced with a brutal death at the hands of some redneck mob, Magneto is right in his belief that they will always fear us. When you bring him back he will continue to alienate the humans you so wish to have embrace your precious X-Men as heroes."

"That may be, but we can face that," he began wheeling away. "After yesterday, I believe we can face anything because regardless of your cynicism, the X-Men _are_ heroes."

~*~*~

She was rambling she knew it, but left alone in this room with nothing to hear but the steady beep of Logan's heart monitor, Rogue felt compelled to talk.

Though she was tired as she'd told Mystique and the Professor to get rid of them, she found it impossible to close her eyes with the usually vibrant Wolverine lying so still.

It was a sight she hated seeing, him so defenseless on this tiny hospital bed.

"Is this how you felt when it was me like this?" she asked him quietly. "Aftah mah little powah struggle, did ya feel this torn up insahde watchin' me sleep and wonderin' when Ah'd wake tha hell up to let ya know Ah was ok? Ah don't lahke it. Yer tha Wolverine," she smiled at his stubble covered jaw and the wild disarray of his shaggy black hair, "yer supposed ta bounce back up aftah a foolish stunt lahke tha one ya pulled. And it was foolish, ya know? Those two telekinetics, Betsy and Nate, they had me taken care of. Ya didn't have ta try and stop mah fall."

With a half smile and sigh, she gripped his hand in both of hers and raised it to study the way his strong, blunt fingers dwarfed her daintier ones.

"But then that's what ya always do, isn't it?" she meshed the fingers of her left hand with his. "Ya've always been tha one ta catch me when Ah fall. Pretty much tha onlah one ta even notice Ah'm fallin'. Ah can't believe ya keep doin' it when Ah nevah even thank ya. Ah don't usually have much reason ta thank people, but Ah'm getting' kinda good at it so ya bettah open those eyes of yers so Ah can tell ya how much all that means ta me. 'Cause it means a hell of a lot, ya always bein' thare. And Ah'm gonna do tha same fer you from now on. Ya hear that," she squeezed his hand and gave it a little shake. "Next tahme ya think of pullin' some crazy stunt lahke ya did fer me yestahday ya bettah believe Ah'm gonna be rahght behind ya ta make sure ya don't get yourself killed. Don't do me much good havin' ya save mah lahfe so often if ya go and lose yers in tha process 'cause a big part of whah Ah even give a damn about this lahfe is you."

Tears filled her eyes at his continued lack of a response to her chattering and she pressed a kiss against each of the knuckles of the hand she held.

"Ah don't know really know anythang about love. Ahrene cared fer me, but Ah think she always held part of herself back from me. Ah guess it was 'cause she always knew Mystique would be back fer me and she didn't wanna really get too attached. Even if she has made a lot of progress in redeemin' herself, Ah can't help hopin' whatevah tha hell Mystique feels fer me isn't love 'cause Ah just can't accept that anyone who truly cared about anothah person would hurt me as much as she has. Ah've got a lot of friends here and Kurt loves me, even aftah what Ah did, Ah know he loves me lahke a sistah, but when it comes ta love love Ah got nothin' ta go by."

Having become totally focused on what she was saying, Marie failed to notice the jerking of the fingers intertwined with her own before they gripped her hand gently.

"Still Ah'm pretty sure Ah love you, Logan, whatevah that means. Ah know that ya fill a good many of mah thoughts and in really good ways anymore. Ah know that Ah look forward to every moment we spend togethah and Ah love tha fact that ya always have tahme for me. Ya talk ta me and ya undahstand how Ah feel and everything Ah say and ya even get tha things Ah can't say. Tha things Ah just don't know how ta say. And its tha same with me fer you. Ah know when yer nightmares are botherin' ya again but ya feel ya can't tell anyone what's wrong. Ah know how much ya worry about X23 and wanna go find her to protect from tha bastards that made ya both weapons against yer will. Hell, Ah swear Ah even know what all yer growls mean now. Tha 'Ah'm not awake yet' or 'don't talk ta me till Ah've eaten' or 'ya lookin' ta get clawed, bub' or, mah personal favorite, tha 'it'll be ok' growls ya grumble with when ya don't feel lahke sayin' tha words. Ah love yer growls," she sniffled and removed one hand from his to wipe away a tear.

Her hand froze in midair, though, when with a soft growl Logan raised his hand to brush it away.

Eyes wide, she snapped her attention to his face and found him looking down at her with his eyes half open and the left corner of his mouth kicked up just a little in a weak half smile.

"Ya big fakah, you," she tried to joke, but it came out with a sob of relief.

He gave her one of those 'I'm not awake yet' growls that she'd mentioned in her ramblings and she shifted to bury her face against his t-shirt covered chest as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Stop that, Marie," he said gruffly while gently rubbing her back, "I need water not waterworks, darlin'."

His request sank in slowly, but once she realized how hoarse his voice was as he spoke she bolted upright and rushed to get him a glass of water.

While he gulped down the liquid then handed her the empty glass with a silent request for more, she stopped the waterworks and regained some of the composure the others had all seemed to admire so much earlier.

"Ya ok now?" she asked as he downed the second glass, though she referred to more than his thirst.

"I should be askin' you that," he gave her a look that said he was asking her that now.

"Ah'm great," and she was. "Ah'm awake and you're awake and we all made it and Apocalypse is gone and," her bare fingers stroked over his furrowed brow, "Ah can control mah skin."

As she had anticipated his left eyebrow shot upward at her statement and with a smile she traced the dark brow with her thumb.

"Long story," a yawn escaped her lips.

"It can wait then," he said while shifted to the right side of the bed.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked as he began urging her to lay in the space created by his movements.

"You're sleepy, I'm sleepy and there's room for us both. Whatcha think I'm doin'?"

Uttering a slight "Oh" of understanding, she happily took him up on the unspoken offer and climbed up next to him.

No more words were spoken as they fitted their clothed bodies together on the cramped space provided by the hospital bed. Instead they silently communicated to each other what they felt as they embraced and soon were lulled into a peaceful, healing sleep by the sound of the other's breathing and heartbeat.

**__**

~*~

The End

~*~

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Author Speaking: YES, reader's that is where I'm ending the series. It's a happy ending to how I'd like things to go yet it leaves some things unknown, as does life. All can never be revealed and wrapped up in a tidy little package, you must be given the freedom to imagine your own scenarios for how everything went. ;-) This story has just pointed you in the direction I favor.

Now, like everyone else, I eagerly await the upcoming new episodes of Evolution to see how the show's writers stun us all with their plans.


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